Tag: retail

BNP Paribas: Total RE Investment Grew by 5% in 2019 to €12.7bn

7 January 2020 – Eje Prime

Following a bumper fourth quarter, with a transaction volume of €3.9 billion, the Spanish real estate sector closed 2019 with a total investment volume of €12.7 billion, up by 5% YoY, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.

The most sought-after assets were offices (€4.6 billion), followed by residential properties (€2 billion). The latter was boosted by the rental market and the wave of build-to-rent projects.

Meanwhile, the logistics sector recorded transactions amounting to €1.85 billion, up by 42% YoY, whilst the retail sector ended the year with some major last-minute deals, including the sale of the Puerto Venecia shopping centre in Zaragoza for €475 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Inbest Prepares New Investment Vehicle for Retail Parks & Finalises MAB-Debut of its Socimis

15 May 2019 – Eje Prime

Corpfin Capital Real Estate is planning to launch a vehicle to invest up to €60 million in retail parks. Meanwhile, it is working towards the debut of its four Socimis on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) in June.

To date, the company has been channelling its investment in retail parks through a vehicle it created in 2015, Corpfin Capital Retail Parks, with an investment volume of €44 million. But now it is going to create a second vehicle, Inbest Parks II, which will have €60 million to spend, with the aim of providing continuity and attracting new investors.

In parallel, the company is focused on the MAB debut of its four Socimis, which are due to list for the first time on 27 June. In total, the companies have an investment volume of €400 million, comprising own funds and debt. Most of that figure (€378 million) has already been invested in the purchase of three buildings from El Corte Inglés and the acquisition of the commercial premises in Edificio España.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Injects €83.7M into its Inbest Portfolio During First Year

25 April 2019 – Eje Prime

Corpfin Capital Real Estate has already injected more than €80 million into its various Inbest companies during their first year of operation.

Specifically, Inbest has received capital injections amounting to €83.7 million over the last 12 months. The most recent amounted to €5.3 million for Inbest Prime Assets and was registered in the Mercantile Registry yesterday.

The aim of the increases is to finance the investment operations that the vehicle has planned. The Inbest companies invest in high street buildings to transform them into flagship stores.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

INBISA Completed the Construction of Logistics Projects Spanning 330,000 m2 in 2018

8 April 2019 – Press Release

INBISA Construcción completed the construction of logistics projects spanning 330,000 m2 in 2018, up by 80,000 m2 YoY, and has already handed over more than 110,000 m2 of completed logistics space so far this year.

The strong boost in the logistics sector across the country has contributed to the company’s growth, with operators in the retail and e-commerce sectors demanding much of the new space, especially in Madrid and Cataluña.

INBISA Construcción offers a complete service across all phases of the logistics process, from asset construction to property management, providing solutions to each one of its clients’ needs.

In recent months, the company completed the development of the Puerta Centro de Guadalajara industrial estate, an innovative logistics centre for Montepino Logística, a leading property developer in Spain in the development of turnkey projects, and Luís Simões, one of the country’s leading logistics operators.

Original story: Press Release

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

CorpFin Completes €10M Capital Increase for Inbest

8 April 2019 – Eje Prime

The Spanish fund manager CorpFin has completed a capital increase amounting to more than €10 million in Inbest Prime III Inmuebles and Inbest Prime I Inmuebles, two of its four vehicles specialising in retail.

Specifically, Inbest Prime III Inmuebles increased its capital by €2.33 million, taking the total subscribed amount to €12 million. Meanwhile, Inbest Prime I Inmuebles increased its capital by €8.22 million, resulting in a total subscribed amount of €25 million.

This latest injection of funding follows more than ten capital increases that the firm led by Ana Granado has carried out in recent months.

Corpfin launched Inbest Real Estate in April 2018 with the aim of investing in high street buildings and converting them into flagship stores. Inbest channels its investments through four vehicles, Inbest Prime I, II, III and IV, which will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) in September 2019.

The funds’ largest operation to date was its purchase of the retail premises in Edificio España last year, on which it spent €160 million.

Original story: Eje Prime (by I. P. G.)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

BNP Paribas: Investment in the Real Estate Sector Amounted to €2.0bn in Q1 2018

1 April 2019 – Eje Prime

Investment in real estate assets amounted to €2.0 billion during the first quarter of 2019, down by 5% compared to the same period in 2018, according to data from the consultancy firm BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Investment in the office sector amounted to €900 million, accounting for 47% of the total, with prime yields remaining stable at 3.25% in Madrid and 3.5% in Barcelona.

Investment in the retail segment amounted to €410 million, where prime yields reached 3% on high street stores, 5% on shopping centres and 5.75% on retail parks.

Investment in alternative assets amounted to €305 million, with investors increasingly interested in halls of residence for students and nursing homes for the elderly.

Finally, in the logistics sector, investment amounted to €206 million, boosted by the growth in e-commerce and consumption.

By type of investor, 50% of the transacted volume proceeded from investment funds, whilst Socimis contributed 18% of the total volume.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Mazabi to Grow its Socimi to Make Stock Market Debut with €1bn in Assets

18 March 2019 – Expansión

Mazabi, the firm that manages the wealth of 35 family offices and which owns €1.54 billion in assets, is getting its ducks in a row ahead of the planned debut of its Socimi Silicius. The intention is for that entity to take ownership of the majority of the firm’s rental properties and whereby grow its portfolio to at least €1 billion before its IPO.

Currently, Silicius owns 17 assets, spanning 71,244 m2, worth €156 million in the office, retail, hotel and logistics segments. During 2019, new properties will be transferred to it to increase its portfolio to €740 million by the end of the year, with an associated debt of €240 million.

Moreover, 80% of the operations that the manager executes over the coming months will also be transferred to the Socimi. Mazabi typically invests between €100 million and €150 million per year, according to its CEO, Juan Antonio Gutiérrez (pictured above).

New investors

At the same time, Mazabi is looking for investors who want to get involved in its project. To this end, it has engaged KPMG to find an investor to acquire a stake in the Socimi before it is listed. At this stage, the firm has not decided whether Silicius will make its debut on the MAB or the main stock market. The timings have not been confirmed either, but if Silicius is registered as a Socimi in July, then it would make its debut on the MAB no later than July 2021.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Vukile to Inject €600M into its Socimi Castellana Properties

5 March 2019 – Eje Prime

Vukile is going to inject €600 million into its Spanish Socimi, Castellana Properties, to enlarge its portfolio. The aim of the South African fund is to debut the Socimi, which specialises in shopping centres, on the main stock market during 2019.

The company currently owns 19 commercial assets in Spain worth €898 million and has a leverage ratio of 48%, but before making the leap onto the main stock market, the company wants to increase its asset portfolio to €1,500 million and reduce its leverage ratio to below 45%.

The plan is to carry out a €600 million capital increase, to finance the additional asset purchases, which will be subscribed by its main shareholder, Vukile.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Knight Frank: High Street Investment Soared by 84% to €1.3bn in 2018

31 January 2019 – Eje Prime

The real estate sector has closed another year with a strong performance in the Spanish market. As we approach the end of the real estate cycle in the country, the tertiary sector is continuing to maintain high levels of investment, with growing rents and sustainable yields.

In the retail sector, the investment volume amounted to around €3.7 billion in 2018, according to data from Knight Frank. The main driver of that investment was the high street, where spending soared by 84% to €1.3 billion.

Despite that, the bulk of retail investment in Spain continued to be directed towards shopping centres, which accounted for 54% of the total last year with major operations such as the sale of the Summit portfolio, owned by Sonae Sierra in conjunction with CBRE GI, and of which 87% is now controlled by JT Real Estate.

Moreover, the consultancy firm highlights that interest has increased from investors in shopping centres and isolated retail warehouses in good locations “which allow them to manage last mile delivery points”, said the consultancy firm.

Returns have remained stable across the three segments with yields of 5.25% for retail parks, 4.25% for shopping centres and 3% for high street assets.

Despite the strong performance of the retail sector in 2018, the jewel in the Spanish real estate crown is still the logistics segment. In 2018, investment in logistics assets amounted to €1.255 billion, close to the record set in 2017 of €1.28 billion.

In the last quarter, several large operations were closed, such as Blackstone’s purchase of a portfolio of 55 assets from Neinver for €300 million.

Interest in the segment continues to generate expectations regarding the compression of yields, and so Knight Frank forecasts returns of around 5% this year.

Finally, the office sector has also maintained a robust rate of activity, after the maximums recorded in 2017 thanks to operations undertaken by the Administration. Specifically, Knight Frank estimates that 2018 closed with a gross absorption of 493,000 m2.

Following the trend set in 2017, 52% of the surface area leased was located outside of the M-30, although during the final quarter, it was the secondary centre that accounted for the bulk of the space rented, around 35%.

Prime office rents remained stable at around €30.5/m2/month, and reached maximums of €38.5/m2/month in the most sought-after areas of the business district.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

BNP Paribas: RE Investment Rose by 8% in 2018 to €11.6bn

9 January 2019 – El Periódico

The volume of annual investment in the Spanish real estate sector amounted to €11.63 billion in 2018, which represented an increase of 8% compared to 2017. If we add the corporate operations with underlying real estate to that volume, then the figure increases to €19 billion, which represents an investment record since the end of the crisis, according to the latest report from BNP Paribas Real Estate in Spain. The report highlights that interest from investors in the Spanish real estate sector in 2018 was at its highest level for a decade.

During the fourth quarter of the year, the volume of direct investment in real estate assets – offices, logistics warehouses, hotels, retail and residential – amounted to €3.7 billion in total, which represented an increase of 58% YoY. The evolution of investor activity, therefore, exceeded the expectations of the sector at the beginning of the year.

“The good times that the fundamentals of the market are enjoying, with occupancy levels at maximums and rents that are stable or expanding in the most consolidated markets, together with the surplus capital and the limited alternatives offered by other financial products, have fostered a frenetic pace of activity in the investment market”, explains the report.

By type of asset, the commercial sector (retail) was the star of the year. The volume invested in commercial assets during 2018 amounted to €4.28 billion, which represents an increase of 23% compared to 2017. During the fourth quarter, investment reached €1.26 billion, and so the sector achieved a quarterly market share of 35%. The largest operation during the final quarter of the year was the purchase of a portfolio of three shopping centres – Max Center, Gran Casa and Valle Real – by Sonae Sierra and Perter Varbacka for €485 million.

Commercial yields

Demand from investors for high street retail assets was high, given that they consider them to be a very stable product. Similarly, there was a high interest in land for the development of retail parks, in light of the scarce supply of this type of asset. The yields continued at 3.00% for prime premises; between 5.00% and 5.25% for prime shopping centres; and at 5.75% for prime retail parks.

In terms of the office market, the investment volume recorded during the fourth quarter was €986 million taking the total figure for the year to €2.228 billion. That represented a slight YoY decrease of 4%. The shortage of products for sale meant that fewer operations materialised in 2018 than in 2017. The prime yield in the office market remained at 3.25% in Madrid and 3.50% in Barcelona.

The logistics market continues to rise. The increase in e-commerce and the strong performance of the consumer sector and the economy, in general, have encouraged investment in this type of asset. The investment volume registered during the fourth quarter of the year amounted to €400 million, whilst the total figure for the year (€1.3 billion) represented a new investment record, and an increase of 30% compared to 2017. The shortage of products, combined with the high investment pressure resulted in a considerable adjustment in yields, which amounted to 5.30% in the prime logistics market in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Investors

Investment funds were the great stars of the market, representing 61% of the total volume transacted in 2018. Socimis have been very present in the investment market, both on the buy and sell sides in the main land transactions to develop new products. Finally, the presence of family offices (private investors) stood out, with acquisitions, in general, for volumes of less than €50 million.

Alternative investments remained in the spotlight of investors, who were mainly attracted by student residences, clinics and nursing homes for the elderly. The cumulative volume invested in those types of assets amounted to €600 million in 2018.

Original story: El Periódico (by Max Jiménez Botías)

Translation: Carmel Drake