Tag: RIU Hotels

Trinitario Casanova Loses Court Battle Over the Hotel Plaza España

2 December 2019 – Trinitario Casanova, an executive based in Orihuela who is the head of the Murcian Baraka Group, lost another round in his lawsuits against the RIU hotel chain. Casanova has been battling in court since an operation in which he intervened to buy the Edifício España in Madrid from Chinese investor Wanda and, simultaneously, sell it to the Mallorcan firm to turn it into a hotel. The courts had already ruled against the executive in May when RIU was allowed to open the hotel. Now the latest ruling stated that the Baraka Group did not have a repurchase option on the ground-floor commercial premises.

Original Story: Alicante Plaza – David Martínez

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Riu Hotels Wins a Small Victory Over Casanova in the Dispute Regarding Edificio España

1 March 2019 – El Español

A small victory (bringing the total to two) for Riu Hotels in the fight for ownership of the commercial space in Edificio España. The judge has dismissed the precautionary measures that the Baraka group, owned by the Murcian businessman Trinitario Casanova, requested to prevent the registration of the property in the name of the hotel group.

The magistrate has rejected the claim on the basis that there is no evidence, “in a clear and unequivocal way, of the relationship that must necessarily exist between what is claimed in the lawsuit and what is recorded in the Property Registry”. Specifically, Baraka requested that the inscription in the registry should include a note establishing the existence of a dispute over the ownership status.

The objective of that measure is to ensure that any possible investor in the commercial space knows that problems may arise in the future regarding the ownership. Nevertheless, the magistrate considers that the group owned by Trinitario Casanova has not proved its ownership of those spaces in the correct way.

Baraka is going to appeal

Specifically, and according to explanations provided by the group, there is a discrepancy between its lawyers and the judge because the lawsuit against the hotel firm was made directly by Baraka’s parent company, rather than by the company that the group used to purchase Edificio España (and which was subsequently transferred to its parent company ahead of the sale to Riu).

This is the second time that the courts have rejected Baraka’s requests, which in the opinion of Riu Hotels is good news. “We are continuing to work to open Hotel Riu Plaza España in the summer of 2019”, said the group in a statement to this newspaper.

The decision by the judge will be appealed by the Baraka group (…) and the Murcian group is convinced that it is in the right.

Original story: El Español (by Arturo Criado)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Trinitario Casanova Invests €15M in a Logistics Platform in Barcelona

21 February 2017 – Expansión

Through the Baraka Group, the Murcian businessman has purchased a plot of land measuring more than 30,000 m2 from Consum, where it is going to build a logistics warehouse.

The construction group Baraka, controlled by the well-known businessman Trinitario Casanova, has completed the purchase of a plot of land dedicated to logistics-industrial use, located in the municipality of Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in Barcelona.

The land, owned until now by the Consum group, spans 30,665 m3; and Baraka is going to build a 19,213 m2 complex on the site, split into modules of around 6,000 m2, with the aim of leasing them to three operators, said the company. Currently, Baraka is negotiating with two companies interested in the project, say sources at the group, speaking to Expansión.

Sources at the company highlight the location of the future platform in the “strategic enclave of the Can Estella industrial estate, located next to the A-2 and AP-7 motorways, which connect the Mediterranean Arc with Barcelona, the main traffic route from Europe through the Mediterranean and Pyrenees, with Madrid”.

In total, Baraka is going to invest €15 million in this project.

In parallel to this industrial project, Baraka is working on the marketing of the commercial area of Edificio España, the property that it acquired last June from the Chinese Wanda Group, only to immediately sell it onto RIU Hotels.

In addition to the Edificio España operation, Casanova acquired a building on c/Preciados 13, also in Madrid, as well as the adjacent building, which houses the Carlos V Hotel. In the case of c/Preciados 13, Baraka has teamed up with the real estate group Hines, which is acting as the financial partner, whilst the Spanish firm is taking care of the building work and the search for a new tenant.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake