Alantra Leases 5,000 m2 of Office Space in Rivas Futura (Madrid)

27 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Alantra Reim has leased 5,000 m2 of offices in 521HUB, the business park that the company manages in Rivas Futura (Madrid). The complex comprises two twin, independent buildings located on Calle Marie Curie in the Madrilenian municipality, which span a total surface area of 43,500 m2.

With this operation, Alantra Reim, the Alantra Group’s real estate investment and asset management platform, is starting to occupy Building I in this business park, which the company purchased in July 2018 from the Spanish family office Autocampo. The other twin building is leased almost in its entirety, according to a statement issued by the company. This operation has been advised by the consultancy firm CBRE.

The 521HUB business park is located between the towns of Rivas Futura and Rivas Vaciamadrid, just twenty kilometres from Madrid, and has office spaces available from 1,500 m2 up to 17,000 m2.

In addition to its office assets, Alantra Reim, led by Luis Iglesias, also operates a line of business in the hotel segment. Last year, in Spain, it acquired the Islantilla resort in Huelva and Hotel Denia La Sella in Alicante.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar Raises Dividend by 67% and Opens the Door to Corporate Operations

9 October 2018

The socimi will distribute €75 million in 2019 / The socimi will book 115 million euros with the delivery of its luxury flat development Lagasca, in Madrid, and roughly 110 million euros from the sale of its three office buildings.

Lar España is moving forward with its plan to focus on the retail market and pay-outs to its shareholders. The company, which expects to deliver the homes in the Lagasca99 luxury development (Madrid) before the end of the year, will raise its dividend to 75 million euros in 2019, compared to the 45 million euros it distributed last May and the €30 million in 2017.

The socimi will propose a dividend equivalent to 5% of the value of its assets (NAV), which will imply an outlay of about €50 million. The company will also pay an extraordinary dividend in 2019 associated with the sale of Lagasca99 for about in €25 million.

The president of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, highlighted, yesterday on Investor Day, the socimi’s evolution and the fulfilment of its strategic plan. “In a few months, we are going to become a socimi focused exclusively on retail. With approximately 550,000 square meters of commercial space, we are the largest operator in Spain, and we also have a specialised manager who is committed to the project.”

Sale of assets

Del Valle recalled that, of the disinvestments of non-strategic assets planned for the years to 2021, the company has already executed 47% in one year for €276 million. Another €115 million will be added to that figure from for the delivery of Lagasca99 and the sale of the three office buildings that the company still has in its portfolio – two in Madrid and one in Barcelona -, which will take place between this year and the beginning of 2019, for about €110 million. As Expansión announced on October 5: “Disinvestments are taking place above the purchase price and with capital gains compared to the last valuation.”

At the same time, it will continue with its investment plan with the purchase of assets for approximately €250 million. Lar bought the Rivas Futura business park in Madrid for €62 million and the Parque Abadía shopping mall in Toledo for €14 million. “We will continue to take advantage of opportunities and, where appropriate, we will address new developments such as Vidanova Parc, in Sagunto, which opened in September and O Lagoh, in Sevilla, which will open in mid-2019,” Miguel Pereda, board member and managing director of Grupo Lar.

Regarding future corporate operations, Del Valle recalled that Lar “is in the market and attractive.” He added: “I think the best thing for the shareholder is the execution of the current business plan, but we are in the market and we can evaluate buyer interest at any time.” Among the shareholders of Lar España, the manager Pimco stands out (19.6%), along with Group Lar (its manager, with 10%); and Franklin Templeton (7.9%).

Regarding potentially negative changes to the tax regime governing socimis, Del Valle found the enactment of such a measure to be unlikely: “There is no point in undoing a formula that has worked and is not part of the problem.”

Original Story: Expansión – Rebeca Arroyo

Translation: Richard Turner

Blackstone Buys Lar’s Logistics Portfolio for €120M

18 July 2018 – Expansión

Blackstone has purchased the Socimi Lar España’s logistics portfolio, comprising five warehouses and a plot of land for development, for €119.7 million. That sum represents an appreciation of 83% with respect to the purchase price of €65.6 million.

Specifically, four of the warehouses acquired are located in Alovera (Guadalajara), one is located on the Juan Carlos I Industrial Park in Almussafes (Valencia), whilst the land to be developed for logistics use is located in Cheste (Valencia).

The five logistics warehouses span a combined surface area of 162,000 m2 and have an occupancy rate of 100% – all of them have stable rental contracts. Meanwhile, the surface area in Cheste spans 182,000 m2.

The warehouses in Alovera were acquired between August 2014 and May 2015 and the property in Almussafes was purchased in May 2015. The advisors to Lar España on the operation have been CBRE, Pérez Llorca and Hill International.

Asset rotation

This operation forms part of the asset rotation process that the company launched last year. Specifically, the Socimi’s first divestment came in September 2017, with the sale of an office building in Arturo Soria, and since then, it has carried out two other sales.

Together, the divestments carried out by Lar España to date amount to €265 million, more than half the €470 million in divestments forecast in the business plan to 2021.

The President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, said that the company’s plan involves selling those assets that are not strategic to focus on the retail portfolio.

In addition to the asset sales, the company’s business plan involves investing €220 million in shopping centres and retail parks. Within the context of that plan, Lar purchased the Rivas Futura shopping centre for €62 million and the Abadía shopping arcade for €14 million.

In parallel, the Socimi plans to invest €247 million in commercial developments and €49 million to improve its retail assets.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

JLL: Shopping Centre Investment Reaches Record High

7 October 2015 – Cinco Días

Real estate investment in the retail sector is breaking records, reaching levels above even those seen before the crisis. Total investment volumes amounted to €2,588 million during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 42% with respect to the same period last year, according to data from the real estate consultancy JLL.

The worst year of the crisis for this segment was 2011, when investors spent just €500 million in Spain during the whole year. At the other end of the spectrum, 2007 was the best year in terms of transaction volumes, which totalled almost €4,000 million.

During the last three quarters, 486 assets have been acquired in total through 46 operations, the majority of which have involved the purchase of shopping centres and prime retail parks (i.e. the largest assets in the best locations).

The star product for investors, by transaction volume, are shopping centres, which account for 52% of all sales. After these purchases, are their interest in individual shops (23%).

In Q3, the most noteworthy operations included the acquisitions made by Grupo Lar, which recently purchased the MegaPark de Barakaldo shopping centre for €170 million, in an operation that was advised by JLL, as well as the El Rosal shopping centre for €87.5 million. In addition, the Rivas Futura shopping centre was sold to Credit Suisse for €52 million and the Connecta Córdoba park was sold to MDSR Investments for €15.3 million.

Another highlight was the transactions involving two supermarket portfolios: the Caprabo Blue Box portfolio, which was sold to Meridia Capital for €97 million; and a group of Carrefour and Día supermarkets, which were purchased by Kennedy Wilson for €88 million.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A.S.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lone Star Puts ‘Rivas Futura’ Retail Park Up For Sale

9 July 2015 – Cinco Días

The opportunistic fund Lone Star has put the Rivas Futura retail park, in the Madrilenian town of Rivas Vaciamadrid, up for sale. The retail space covers an area of more than 40,000 m2 and includes around 30 large stores, such as Toys’r’us, Leroy Merlin, Media Markt, Decathlon, Kiab and Prenatal.

The retail park opened in May 2006. In 2008, the insurance company Axa Reim purchased it from Avantis for €81 million. Subsequently, it was included in Eurohypo’s secured loan portfolio.

The asset was subsequently included in the so-called Project Octopus, loans that were sold by Commerzbank (after its acquisition of Eurohypo), which Lone Star ended up purchasing.

This retail park currently has an occupancy rate of 80% and market sources say that the sales price could stand at around €70 million. The transaction has been brokered by Knight Frank, which has declined to comment on proceedings.

In Spain, Lone Star also acquired Kutxabank’s real estate arm, Neinor, last December, for €930 million and obtained control over the former Basque cajas’ property management platform. This fund, led by Juan Pepa in Spain, is committed to the residential market, through Neinor, and has plans to invest up to €1,000 million in land.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake