Tag: revenue

Jevaso Buys 41,000 m2 Plot in Zaragoza from Porcelanosa for €10M

30 May 2018 – Eje Prime

Real estate operation in the logistical heart of Spain. The logistics operator Jevaso, which works for groups such as Inditex, has acquired a plot of land measuring 41,000 m2 in the Logistics Platform of Zaragoza (Plaza), which had belonged to Porcelanosa until now. The company has disbursed ten million euros for the land and will invest another €3 million on the renovation and expansion of the warehouse, which will span 13,000 m2.

Following the construction work, which will be completed in August, Jevaso’s facilities in Zaragoza will span 25,000 m2. Porcelanosa acquired the plot in 2005 and invested €22 million in the project.

Jevaso is going to use these facilities primarily for returns, ironing and drop-shipping, and initially, its main client is going to be Inditex. Over the medium term, the company plans to add another 12,000 m2 of space. Jevaso has three other warehouses, one that it owns and two that it leases. The aim of the group is to centralise its operations on the new site and hold onto just one of the existing assets, which is connected with Inditex.

At the end of last year, the company acquired another plot measuring 25,600 m2 in Meco (Madrid) with a warehouse spanning 9,000 m2 for €5 million. The group has budgeted an investment of €1 million for that renovation and is considering expanding it to 48,900 m2 over the medium-long term. Jevaso’s new site in Madrid is just 300 m away from the former, located close to Inditex’s operations.

In the cases of both Zaragoza and Madrid, the plots still have scope for more construction, whilst in A Coruña, the group has had to grow with new independent warehouses that have a surface area of 103,000 m2.

In total, Jevaso has six plants in A Coruña, Zaragoza, Madrid, Parets del Vallès (Barcelona) and Braga spanning 200,000 m2. The group employs more than 1,500 workers, moves 120 million garments per year and irons up to 350,000 pieces of clothing a day. The group generates revenue of around €60 million and expects to grow by between 10% and 15% this year.

Jevaso’s history dates back to 1983. Jesús Vázquez, whose family also worked in the textile industry, started his professional career in Samlor, one of Amancio Ortega’s first companies. In the beginning, Jevaso was a clothes manufacturing company dedicated to serving large Galician businesses, which expanded to offer ironing and labelling services. With the industrial relocation, the company turned its business on its head and integrated the logistics activity.

Original story: Eje Prime (by P. Riaño & I. P. Gestal)

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEV: Spain’s Appraisal Companies Invoiced €283.8M in 2017, Up By 17% YoY

18 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Appraisal companies are thriving in Spain. According to the latest data from the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (AEV), the turnover of the 23 associated appraisal companies during 2017 amounted to €283.8 million,  up by 17.1% compared to the previous year. This upward trend is experiencing an acceleration that almost doubles the turnover growth rate recorded between 2015 and 2016 (9.2%).

Moreover, this ascending inertia is observed in the great majority of the data analysed. The number of real estate appraisals performed increased by 18% to reach 1.25 million appraisals, corresponding to a total appraised value of €389.5 billion. The 650,000 appraisals that were issued for the purpose of mortgage guarantees stand out, in particular, since they represent 24% more than the number carried out during the previous year, according to data from the association.

The number of appraisals conducted without visiting the interior of the property grew substantially, by 67% to be precise, as did the number of appraisals performed online, although at a more moderate rate (by 15%).

In terms of the regional distribution of house appraisals by autonomous community, Murcia recorded the highest growth with respect to 2016, up by 38%. It was followed by Valencia (36%), Cantabria (31%), the Balearic Islands (25%) and Cataluña (25%).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin to Invest €16M Remodelling Porto Pi Shopping Centre (Palma)

15 December 2017 – Última Hora

Merlin Properties, the listed real estate investment company (Socimi) and largest shareholder of the Porto Pi shopping centre, is going to invest €16 million to remodel and improve the asset’s commercial offer.

The Socimi, in which Santander and BBVA hold a stake, has set itself the objective of improving the centre to bring it into line with current tastes in the market.

Sources at Merlin Properties indicate that in the new era of shopping centres, the aim is to attract the greatest number of visitors “for convenience and experiences”.

The Socimi plans to extend the centre’s areas of activity beyond pure shopping, towards experiences. Moreover, it is keen to integrate the centre with e-commerce, through the constitution of a marketplace and by placing Amazon and Correos e-commerce purchase collection points, as well as pop-up stores and temporary outlets.

Merlin Properties estimates that these improvements, together with the management and natural growth of the assets, will allow it to increase its current annual revenues by 22% and to exceed a country-wide turnover figure of €500 million based on all of its planned projects, without having to buy new properties.

Amongst the most important investments are the €21 million that it plans to spend on the complete renovation of the Larios centre in Málaga and the €16 million that it plans to spend on Porto Pi in Palma.

The shopping centre in Palma receives 8.7 million visitors per year. The different phases of the construction work that are going to be carried out will be completed during the first quarter of 2020 (…).

The final objective is to consolidate Porto Pi’s dominant position at the commercial level in Palma with the maximum variety and diversification of products.

Original story: Última Hora (by J. L. Ruiz Collado)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Revenues At Neinver’s Spanish Outlets Rose By 11% In 2016

22 February 2017 – Expansión

The Spanish outlet centres managed by Neinver generated revenues of €287 million last year, up by 11% compared to 2015. Similarly, the crowds at these centres increased by 10% to reach 18.5 million visitors.

This data does not include activity at Viladecans The Style Outlet – the sixth centre that Neinver manages in Spain – as it only opened its doors in Barcelona in October. The centre, which received investment amounting to more than €80 million, ended the year with more than 800,000 visitors.

The Director of Neinver in Spain, Eduardo Ceballos, explained that, over the last five years, both the number of visitors and sales (at its outlets) have experienced continuous growth. “Moreover, 2016 was marked by the opening of Viladecans The Style Outlet, the first centre in Barcelona’s metropolitan area, which has achieved record visitor numbers during its first two months of activity, and by the agreement to manage the Fashion Outlet Barakaldo in the north of Spain, which strengthens our position as the leading player in the sector”.

Across Europe, total sales at the outlets managed by the company amounted to €1,183 million, up by 10% compared to 2015 and the number of visitors rose by 8% to 50 million.

Neinver – which has operations in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic – manages 21 centres in total, with a combined retail surface area of 537,700 m2 and almost 1,700 stores.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb To Receive €42M From Completion Of 16 Developments

9 May 2016 – Expansión

Sareb will record revenues of €41.9 million over the course of this year from the completion of 16 developments, containing 409 homes. The construction work has already been completed at all of the sites, but legal notices, requiring an investment of €8 million, still need to be finalised before the properties can be sold.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Banks Still Own Problem Assets Amounting To €213,000M

5 May 2016 – Cinco Días

Spain’s banks still have a heavy burden weighing down on them following the burst of the real estate bubble: they now own foreclosed assets worth €84,000 million, taken on since the start of the crisis.

According to the Bank of Spain in its financial stability report, published on Wednesday, that figure “has remained stable since December 2012, always ranging between €75,000 million and €84,000 million”.

Of that amount, 37.6% relates to land, 25% to finished buildings, 22.3% are foreclosed assets resulting from the acquisition of homes, and 5% are buildings under construction.

In the last year, land has decreased by 0.5 points, finished buildings have dropped by 0.43 points, homes have increased by 1.8 points and buildings under construction have remained stable.

But beyond these properties, the banks’ exposure to non-performing assets and problem loans amount to almost €213,000 million in Spain’s financial sector as a holw.

The banks have lots of “non-performing assets on their balance sheets, which do not generate any revenues for the income statement, but which do require financing”, said the financial supervisor, which has published data relating to 2015 year-end.

“A hindrance to solvency”

The Bank of Spain also warns that “although these two indicators have decreased, by 14.5% as a whole, over the last year, they still represent a significant percentage of the total assets of the banks in their business in Spain and they place negative pressure on the income statements of the entities, reducing their profit generation capability and therefore, representing a hindrance to increasing the solvency of the institutions”.

In terms of total loans that have been refinanced or restructured, that balance amounted to €205,000 million at the end of last year, which represents a YoY decrease of 6.4% compared with the end of 2014.

Of the total amount of loans whose initial terms have been adjusted, “51.5% relate to non-financial companies and 46.2% to households”, said the Bank of Spain.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Juande Portillo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eugenio Hinojosa Resumes Empark Negotiations

13 October 2015 – Expansión

The Spanish businessman Eugenio Hinojosa has resumed his plans to purchase Empark, the leading car park company in Spain and Portugal. The operation could amount to around €900 million, including debt. Hinojosa, one of the largest operators of parking spaces in Madrid, has resumed talks to purchase Empark after exclusive negotiations broke down between the shareholders of the parking company and the funds that control Vinci Park (Ardian and Crédit Agricole), the car park giant in France.

Last week, sources close the operation said that the negotiations are progressing and only a few minor details now need to be resolved relating to avals, guarantees and creditor approvals (mainly bondholders) due to the change in control of the company. “Financing is not a problem”, assured the sources consulted.

Hinojosa plans to join forces with other partners, including the company Andersen Partners, to buy Empark. Empark declined to comment on the matter. Empark’s controlling partner with a 50.3% stake, is Assip, a vehicle named after the Portuguese company A. Silva & Silva, which is in turn controlled by the founding families of the company who participate in the management of the group. The main executives of Empark, which manages 500,000 parking spaces in Spain, Portugal, UK and Turkey, are José Augusto Tavares (Chairman), Pedro Mendes (CEO) and Antonio Moura.

The remaining capital is divided amongst several investment funds, managed by BES (22%) and Ahorro Corporación (8.2%). The Mello family holds a 2.6% stake. In theory, these partners are also selling their respective stakes in the company. Ahorro Corporación’s stake is now being managed by the fund GED Capital.

Political risk

In July, Vinci Park reported that the negotiations to purchase Empark had broken down after the due diligence (audit of the assets) was completed with findings that were not satisfactory. Sources close to the company say that behind the decision was the high exposure that Empark has to town halls governed by parties linked to Podemos following the municipal elections in May.

Eugenio Hinojosa, who is a related by marriage to the founding family of Cortefiel, has been building up a sizeable portfolio of car park assets in Madrid, and now owns more than 12,000 parking spaces. He was one of the main competitors in the tender for the Aena car parks in 2013, but was his offer was outbid by Empark and Saba. He managed to suspend the award after filing a special appeal with the Central Administrative Court of Contractual Appeals against the airport operator’s decision, but then lost the ruling.

In 2014, the controlling shareholders of Empark engaged JPMorgan and Caixa Banco de Investimento (CBI) to find a buyer. One of the reasons for their exit from the company (they purchased it from Ferrovial in 2009) has been the financial problems of its Portuguese partners, which have undergone a complicated bankruptcy process and have had to make loan repayments in recent months.

Empark closed 2014 with sales of €180 million and an EBITDA of €66 million. As well as managing some of the busiest car parks in Madrid, Aena awarded the group the operation of its car parks in the Western region (including Barajas) in 2013, requiring the management of 40,600 parking spaces. Two years ago, the company also won the tender to manage 82,000 ground-level parking spaces in Madrid.

Original story: Expansión (by C. Morán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid’s Property Tax (IBI) Will Decrease By 7% In 2016

22 September 2015 – El País

In October, the Town Hall of Madrid will approve a 7% decrease in the property tax (‘Impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles’ or IBI) for all homes and the majority of commercial premises, offices and retail stores. This decrease, accepted begrudgingly by the minority Ahora Madrid government following its enforcement by the other parties (PP, PSOE and Ciudadanos), will be passed with equal reluctance next month by the socialists, who were seeking a higher cut. The 7% decrease in IBI will be equivalent to a €25 reduction in the average monthly bill (€350).

Yesterday, a Councillor from the Treasury, Carlos Sánchez Mato (pictured), announced a 7% decrease in the rate of IBI for all homes in the capital (1,448,765 households) and for the majority of non-residential buidlings.

Nevertheless, the rate will increase by 10% for those non-residential buildings that have a “higher cadastral (land registry) value”. The Town Hall defines this threshold as follows: for individual buildings, the increase will apply only to those that have a cadastral value of more than €35 million (there are around 30 such properties in Madrid); retail stores worth more than €860,000 (around 3,000 of more than 97,000); buildings used for sporting activities worth more than €20 million (around 30 in total); and offices worth more than €2 million (1,760 out of almost 32,000).

These targeted increases to non-residential buildings with higher cadastral values will almost entirely offset the decrease in the rate of IBI for the rest of the city.

IBI is the main source of income from the Town Hall, and therefore any change in the rate significantly affects its capacity to provide public services: IBI will account for €1,279 million of the €4,388 million that the municipal coffers will receive this year (i.e. it accounts for almost one in every three euros). The changes proposed by Ahora Madrid will reduce this revenue by just 3.7%.

A new tax

This fall in revenues (€49 million) will be primarily offset by the creation of a new tax to be paid by the companies that generate the most waste. The other municipal taxes will remain unchanged in 2016, although there may be an as -yet-unknown decrease in the price of certain services (sports centres, kindergartens, etc). (…).

Original story: El País (by Bruno García Gallo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hispania Recorded A Profit Of €11M In H1 2015

31 July 2015 – El Economista

Hispania, the socimi controlled by the fund manager Azora Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios obtained a profit of €10.7 million during the first half of the year, which represented a 29-fold increase compared with the same period in 2014 (€0.4 million).

In H1 2015, Hispania, which began operations in March 2014 following its IPO, recorded turnover of €13 million, whereby multiplying its revenues in H1 2014 (€0.6 million) by 22, according to information submitted to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) yesterday.

Since its debut on the stock market, Hispania has invested in 32 assets, which have a consolidated gross value of €710 million.

During the second quarter of 2015 alone, the socimi acquired four assets – two hotels and two offices – and signed an agreement with Grupo Barceló to create the first hotel socimi.

During the first half of the year, Hispania also obtained additional financing of €70.1 million, taking its financial debt to €195.2 million.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake