13 August 2019
This week, RIU announced the opening of its first hotel in Madrid after almost two years of renovations and a total investment of between 380 and 400 million euros.
The RIU Plaza España hotel on Madrid’s Gran Vía has 585 rooms and 5,000 square meters of event facilities, including 17 meeting rooms.
Original Story: Expansión – R. Arroyo
Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner
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
21 February 2019 – Cinco Días
The work to renovate Edificio España is progressing towards its imminent completion after years of drama involving the historical skyscraper in Madrid’s Plaza de España, constructed between 1948 and 1953. The hotel chain Riu expects to conclude the renovation work in the spring and will inaugurate its hotel Riu Plaza España at the beginning of the summer, most likely in June. The Mallorcan chain expects to open with an occupancy rate of 65% for the first few months of operation, according to explanations provided by sources at the company.
The hotelier expects that half of the guests at Riu Plaza España will be business travellers and the rest tourists. The company chose the 4-star format for this establishment precisely to strengthen its business market, since many companies expressly prohibit their employees from staying in 5-star hotels.
Riu Plaza España is one of the company’s largest hotels, with 585 rooms and the first to operate under the Plaza brand in the city, focused on the urban market. Regarding the provenance of its guests, Riu expects 60% to come from overseas (…).
Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)
Translation: Carmel Drake
12 February 2019 – Idealista
The Socimis are continuing to make inroads in the real estate market. There are now more than 70 listed vehicles operating under this regime in Spain, and another twenty new vehicles could make their stock market debuts soon, according to the experts.
They include five that the manager Corpfin Capital Real Estate has been promoting through its investment vehicle Inbest Real Estate, including a company called Inbest Prime Inmuebles Socimi. And it is precisely that company that is finalising its stock market debut.
According to explanations provided by the manager to Idealisa News, the purchases that Inbest has completed recently have been materialised through those Socimis and its objective is for them to be listed on the stock market by September this year at the latest, just two years after their constitution and, therefore, by the deadline established by the legislation for continuing to enjoy tax incentives. Nevertheless, the firm chaired by Javier Basagoiti expects that the Socimis will be listed before the summer.
Although the valuation of the assets and the price at which the shares will debut are not yet known, the portfolio will include some very well-known and sought-after assets. They include four commercial premises in Edificio España in Madrid, whose purchase was recently signed between Inbest and the hotel chain RIU, the owner of the skyscraper, for almost €160 million. The investment vehicle’s plans include establishing four flagship stores for first-rate operators from the textile and restaurant sectors.
The assets also include three others that Inbest has acquired in recent months from the Spanish department store giant: El Corte Inglés. One of them is located on Calle Colón in Valencia and spans 7,000 m2, distributed between two adjoining premises, whilst another is located on Calle Princesa in Madrid, and another still on Gran Vía in Bilbao, with a combined surface area of almost 8,800 m2 in the case of the latter two. The investment in those three buildings amounted to around €180 million.
The Socimis have a combined investment objective of €400 million (half from own funds), of which almost 85% has now been consumed, whilst the remaining amount (around €60 million) could be targeted towards a new acquisition, given that that is exactly the ticket size that the manager is interested in.
Inbest’s strategy for this game of poker between the Socimis is based on searching for assets located in prime situations (above all in Madrid, Barcelona and other important provincial capitals), and focusing on unique assets in the commercial sector. Barring any last minute changes, the firm will keep the Socimis active for at least five years after finalising the investment period (…), although that term may be extended for another two years (…).
Original story: Idealista (by Ana P. Alarcos)
Translation: Carmel Drake
19 January 2019 – Expansión
Asian investors are joining forces with firms such as UBS, AXA and Savills IM to gain weight in the office, logistics and retail segments, where they still have a limited presence.
Spain has become a key destination for international investors interested in real estate assets, and Asian capital is no stranger to this buying fever that has boosted the sector in the country over the last five years. These investors, who are used to large volume operations, are now trying to gain a foothold in Spain through alliances with large European managers, such as UBS, Rockspring, AXA and Savills Investment Management, which will allow them to participate in smaller-sized operations and enter other sectors such as the office, logistics and retail segments.
The incorporation of new investors, capital funds and Chinese, Japanese and Korean family offices, amongst others, at the hand of the large European managers that are already present in Spain and know the local market well, offers them the possibility of arriving in the country by assuming less risk.
One of the most recent examples is that of the Korean fund manager Igis Asset Management, which, through Savills Investment Management, closed the purchase of Nestlé’s headquarters in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) last October for €87 million. That operation followed others such as the purchase of the Madrilenian Zielo Shopping Pozuelo and that of the office building located at number 2 Calle Santa Bárbara, both through funds managed by UBS, in turn, financed by Asian capital, amongst others.
Indirect investment
(…). These alliances followed the trickle of mega-operations undertaken in Spain in recent years. The most significant include the deal involving the Philippine group Emperador, which purchased the Torre Espacio building in Madrid, one of the skyscrapers that forms part of the Cuatro Torres complex, from Villar Mir, for €558 million.
Another operation that revolutionised the market involved the Chinese holding company Wanda, albeit ephemerally, as it had to abandon the project just three years later. The group purchased Edificio España (Madrid) from Banco Santander in 2014 for €265 million and sold it in the summer of 2017 to RIU, its current owner (…).
Those two Asian investors were joined by the sovereign fund of Singapore GIC, which, through the Socimi P3 Logistics Parks, acquired a foothold in the logistics market in Spain, one of the segments with the most potential.
Investors from Asia are therefore one group of overseas players who are committed to the country, but they are not the only ones. According to a report compiled by Savills Aguirre Newman, international capital was the major star in 2018, accounting for 70% of the €10.8 billion transacted, the largest percentage since the start of the market recovery five years ago (…).
By origin, investors from Europe and the USA account for almost 57% of the domestic and international investment total and 85% of the volume of operations from overseas. Asia is ranked in third place (…).
Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)
Translation: Carmel Drake
18 December 2018 – Eje Prime
Corpfin is continuing with its divestments. The real estate group has sold four assets in San Sebastián, and a fifth in the centre of Valencia for a total amount of €32.2 million, according to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).
In the capital of Gipuzkoa, the company has divested the ground floor premises at numbers 9 and 11 Calle Guetaria, located next to the store that it sold two weeks ago for €7 million, as well as the two assets that comprise the ground floor premises at number 13 Calle San Marcial.
The sold portfolio, which has been transferred through the listed Socimis Corpfin Capital Prime Retail II and III, which held 40% and 60% of the shares, also includes the commercial premise located at number 19 Plaza de la Reina in Valencia. This divestment is the third that the vehicle has undertaken in recent months, following the sale of Gran Vía 55 in Madrid in September.
Moreover, and through Inbest, Corpfin Real Estate has disbursed €250 million during the last quarter, investing in two major operations in Madrid and Valencia. The first was the agreement reached with Riu to acquire the commercial space in Edificio España for €160 million. That deal was followed by the purchase from El Corte Inglés of a building in the centre of Valencia for €90 million.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation: Carmel Drake
23 November 2018 – El Economista
The magistrate of the Court of First Instance nº 67 of Madrid has ruled that the building work on Edificio España in Madrid be suspended immediately due to the risk alleged by Baraka before that legal body.
Baraka, the company owned by the businessman Trinitario Casanova, filed a lawsuit before the courts of Madrid in August requesting the suspension of the building work on the hotel in Edificio España, in Madrid, which is now owned by the hotel chain Riu. The hotel firm purchased the iconic building in Plaza España from Baraka last year.
Baraka is claiming in the courts that the commercial premises inside the building, spanning 15,000 m2, belong to it and that Riu is refusing to sign across the deeds.
The hotel group Riu indicates that it has not yet received any notification to suspend its building work, according to sources speaking to El Economista. The hotel chain clarifies that Baraka does not have any contract with purchase rights or to register on public record the commercial space in Edificio España. Indeed, they note that at the time of Riu’s purchase of the building, Baraka signed “a non-representative mandate contract to search for investors for the commercial area, which it has failed to do”, despite repeated requests from the hotel chain.
The firm points out that a sales agreement has been reached with Corpfin Capital Real Estate for the commercial area, which was signed in September and which is on the verge of being executed. Riu is threatening to sue Baraka for damages and losses if the building work at Edificio España is affected. The hotel chain is going to invest between €380 million and €400 million in the project, including the purchase of the building (around €272 million) and its renovation.
The future hotel will be a four-star property and will have 589 rooms, 15 meeting rooms and almost 3,000 m2 for social and corporate events. The inauguration of the hotel is planned for September 2019 and the property will operate under the brand Riu Plaza.
Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)
Translation: Carmel Drake
15 November 2018 – Preferente
On Thursday, the judge of the Court of First Instance number 51 of Madrid rejected the provisional measure requested by Grupo Baraka against Riu Hotels regarding Edificio España, where the hotel chain is finalising the construction of the largest hotel in the centre of the Spanish capital.
The judge sided with Riu and ruled that Grupo Baraka must pay the legal costs. Baraka sought to record in the Property Registry that an open litigation case existed regarding the ownership of the building, but that claim has been rejected by the court.
Riu considers that the legal ruling clearly shows “the lack of basis imposed by Mr Casanova and his business group, which represents an important step for clarifying that Riu is the sole owner of the property”.
The hotel chain led by the siblings Carmen and Lui Riu expects to open its new hotel in Madrid, the jewel in the crown of the Riu group, next spring.
Original story: Preferente (by R. P.)
Translation: Carmel Drake
11 October 2018 – Expansión
The distribution group is finalising the sale to Inbest, a vehicle owned by Corpfin, of two premises, joined together to form a 7,000 m2 centre, on the Valencian street of Calle Colón.
El Corte Inglés is taking another step forward in its non-strategic asset divestment policy to reduce its debt. To this end, it is finalising the sale to Corpfin Real Estate of two premises converted into a single commercial space, located in Valencia, for more than €90 million, according to market sources speaking to Expansión.
The premises, both located on Calle Colón – one of the main commercial thoroughfares in Valencia – have a combined surface area of 7,000 m2.
It is the second operation that the two groups have signed in recent months, after they reached an agreement in the summer to sell two more retail premises on Gran Vía in Bilbao and Calle Princesa in Madrid, with a combined surface area of 8,800 m2, for €93 million. Like in those cases, this latest operation will be executed using the sale & leaseback formula, which means that El Corte Inglés will remain as the tenant following the sale, and the operation will not affect the business or its employees in any way.
This operation will allow El Corte Inglés to reduce its debt, which currently amounts to €3.65 billion, and to optimise its resources. The premises that have been sold in Valencia belonged at the time to a real estate portfolio that the group purchased from Marks & Spencer when the British firm left Spain. The stores are very well located but they are also some of the firm’s smallest premises in the city, where it has four large department stores on: Avenida de Francia, Pintor Sorolla-Colón, Ademuz and Nuevo Centro.
Meanwhile, the operation allows Corpfin Real Estate to continue growing Inbest’s asset portfolio. At the beginning of this year, the manager launched this vehicle comprising several Socimis, which it was thought may debut on the stock market possibly before the summer. This vehicle was created with the aim of investing €400 million, between capital and financing, before 2021, although, with this operation, it has now almost fulfilled that objective.
In addition to the premises acquired from El Corte Inglés, Inbest has reached an agreement to purchase the commercial area in Edificio España from RIU for around €160 million. Similarly, this summer, it purchased a store measuring 1,500 m2 on Calle Triana, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, from an Indian family.
Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo & V. Osorio)
Translation: Carmel Drake
4 September 2018 – Ali Market
The Riu Hotels & Resorts group has closed the sale to the investment firm Corpfin of the commercial space in Edificio España. The space is split over three floors (of a total of 27 in the property) and spans a total surface area of 15,000 sqm. This operation has caused the businessman Trinitario Casanova (Baraka), who intervened in the sale of the property by the former owner, the Chinese Wanda group, to the current Mallorcan owner, to file a lawsuit in the courts against Riu for breach of contract, on the basis that he understood that he had the right to recognise that commercial space in his name. Sources at Corpfin declined to deny or confirm the purchase, whilst sources at Riu confirmed that a sale has taken place (without specifying the buyer) and that the contract with Casanova has been cancelled.
Specifically, sources at Riu explain that “the current owner [of Edificio España] is the Riu group, which is undertaking the necessary work, in accordance with current legislation, to convert Edificio España into a reference hotel in Madrid from 2019 onwards, in addition to maintaining the identity of an architectural example that is of great value to the Spanish capital. In this sense, “Mr Casanova says that he purchased the building and sold it hours later, something that is false. Mr Casanova played an intermediary role between the Riu group and Wanda. Subsequently, a contract was signed whereby Mr Casanova exercised an intermediary role to sell the commercial space in Edificio España, owned by the Riu group, in exchange for a commission on the sales value. Mr Casanova breached the contract, given that he did not look for any buyers and merely submitted an offer to Riu in his own name. That offer was assessed by the Riu Group’s Board of Directors, which considered it insufficient and rejected it. “Given that Mr Casanova was not fulfilling the obligations established in the contract signed between the two parties, Riu received a higher offer for the commercial space in Edificio España and decided to accept it, as well as to cancel the contract with Mr Casanova after more than a year of inactivity by him”.
In all other regards, the Riu group, “as the legal owner of Edificio España” is undertaking the necessary remodelling and maintenance work to strengthen the structure and ensure that the front and side façades of the building are preserved “in order to protect the work of the Otamendi brothers, as established by the Law for the Protection of Historical Buildings”. This work requires a series of modifications and reinforcements to the structure of the building to ensure the preservation of the building and façade in perfect condition. “This work is being carried out in continuous dialogue with the municipal experts. None of the reviews by the municipal architects has led to the issuance of an unfavourable report regarding the execution that is being carried out by the Riu group, which always follow the instructions of the Town Hall’s architects”.
Original story: Ali Market (by Paco Mota)
Translation: Carmel Drake
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