Chenavari Puts its Entire Property Portfolio in Spain Up For Sale

The British investment manager is looking for a buyer for its real estate portfolio in Spain, which is valued at 700 million euros.

The London-based real estate investment manager Chenavari has decided to find a buyer for its portfolio of assets in Spain. According to El Confidencial, the firm created by former partners of BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Bear Stearns, already had plans to exit the Spanish market before the coronavirus and had engaged Alantra for that purpose.

Chenavari entered the Spanish market in 2014, by purchasing both assets and loans from Spanish banks. In this way, it participated in the purchase of two of the first portfolios that were sold by Bankia following its rescue by the state, specifically, Project Wind, amounting to €1.3 billion, which it acquired together with Oaktree, and another portfolio containing property developer loans worth €335 million.

Villar Mir Group Puts Inmobiliaria Espacio Up For Sale

18 September 2019 – El Confidencial

According to financial sources, the Villar Mir Group has put its land and property developer subsidiary Inmobiliaria Espacio up for sale. The objective is to raise funds to repay the group’s creditor, the Monaco-based fund Tyrus Capital, and it follows the divestment of two other non-real estate entities, Fertiberia and Ferratlántica, in August.

Savills Aguirre Newman has been engaged to coordinate the sale after valuing the entity’s land and plots at €256.88 million as at 31 December 2017. The assets may be sold as a set or piecemeal. Moreover, the company has tax credits worth between €100 million and €200 million, which is where the real value of Inmobiliaria Espacio lies.

According to the latest available data, the company reported an EBITDA of €1.61 million in 2017 and sales of €46.77 million, up by 23.2% YoY. Moreover, it has an excellent and sizeable portfolio of land for development in good locations, for which planning permission has been granted, and therefore an improvement in sales is forecast over the next few years.

Last year, Tyrus Capital lent the Villar Mir Group €360 million to refinance the debt that the traditional banks did not want to extend. The conditions of that loan are onerous – it has a two-year term (of which one year has already passed) and it carries an interest rate of between 10% and 12%. As such, the group wants to sell off its assets in an orderly fashion to repay and reduce its financing, and so time is of the essence.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Agustín Marco)

Translated by: Aura Ree

Sabadell Comes Nearer to Completing Sale of Land Bank

24 June 2019Merc2

Sabadell came nearer to its goal of selling its land bank as Oaktree firmed up its position as the most likely buyer. The sales process has so far taken more than six months, but the transaction could bring in approximately 850 million euros to the Spanish bank’s coffers.

Both Oaktree, which has had a history of cooperation with Sabadell, and Cerberus, are still in the race for the assets. Regardless of which of the two comes out in front, Spain would have a new actor on the market, capable of taking on the four biggest developers: Neinor, Vía Célere, Metrovacesa and Aedas.

The sale would also be a significant success for Sabadell, as it continues to offload NPLs and REOs at a rapid pace, and at relatively attractive valuations.

Original Story: Merc2 – Carlos Lospitao

Translation/Summary – Richard D. Turner

Colonial Finalises the Sale of its Logistics Centers Worth €480M

14 June 2019 – La Vanguardia

Colonial is finalising the sale of a portfolio of 15 logistics centres worth €480 million that it inherited from Axiare. The assets span a surface area of 574,462 m2 and are located on the outskirts of Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla.

The Socimi led by Pere Viñolas hopes to complete their sale within a maximum of two months as it seeks to take advantage of the strong demand for these types of assets thanks to the boom in online commerce.

Colonial’s core portfolio comprises office buildings located in the centres of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, with a market value of around €11.4 billion. The firm is also working on fourteen new projects located in its three key markets, which have an associated investment of €1.3 billion.

At its recent General Shareholders’ Meeting, Colonial approved the appointment of two new independent directors and ratified the distribution of a dividend amounting to €0.20 gross per share, up by 11% YoY.

Original story: La Vanguardia 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Revises Down its Price Expectations for the Sale of its Property Developer SDin

21 May 2019 – Cinco Días

Banco Sabadell put its property development arm Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (Sdin) up for sale several months ago. Initially, the bank was expecting to receive proceeds of around €1 billion for the company, its employees and land. However, in light of the current climate, it is now revising down its expectations.

Investment funds are starting to face problems when it comes to generating returns from their investments in land and property what with many of the large property developers, such as Neinor Homes, slashing their short-term forecasts, the political uncertainty following the recent general election and the general nervousness that the current boom cycle is coming to an end.

As a result, the bank chaired by Josep Oliu (pictured above) is now hoping to receive binding offers amounting to around €900 million, which would considerably reduce the entity’s expected gains from the sale. Nevertheless, SDin owns around 300 prime plots and 130 promotions under development, whose combined valuation amounts to €1.3 billion, according Savills Aguirre Newman.

For the time being, Sabadell has four offers on the table from investment funds, including from Cerberus and Oaktree. The fund Kronos is also still in the running although it is less likely to prove victorious.

Sabadell had initially planned to close this operation by the end of June, but may now wait a little longer.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Ángeles Gonzalo Alconada)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Operación Calderón: Mahou Puts First Plot Up for Sale

7 May 2019 – Eje Prime

Mahou has put the first plot of land up for sale on the site of Operación Calderón. The brewery has engaged Colliers to handle the sales process, which it hopes will close this year and generate proceeds of €60 million

Potential candidates for the purchase include the cooperative Ibosa, amongst others, which plans to build around 400 homes on two of the plots.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Sareb Negotiates the Sale of Part of its Stake in Témpore with TPG

30 April 2019 – La Vanguardia

Sareb is holding formal negotiations with the US fund TPG Real Estate Partners III regarding the sale of part of its stake in the rental home Socimi Témpore Properties, of which it controls 98.38%.

Témpore owns 2,268 rental homes, making it the third largest operator in the Spanish rental home market. It closed last year with a loss of €384,394, but is expected to generate profits from 2020.

Sareb opened a process on 7 March to receive binding offers for Témpore. At least four funds expressed their interest, but it is understood that TPG is the only candidate left in the running.

The operation is expected to close during the month of May.

Original story: La Vanguardia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Completes the Sale of its Platform Solvia to Intrum

24 April 2019 – Cinco Días

Banco Sabadell and Intrum have definitively closed the operation whereby the entity chaired by Josep Oliu has sold 80% of its real estate platform Solvia to the Swedish group, more than four months after it was initially announced, having obtained the corresponding approvals.

The operation values 100% of the company at €300 million and so Sabadell will receive €240 million for the 80% stake, an amount that may increase by another €40 million depending on the evolution of the business.

The bank will record a gain of €138 million as a result of the sale and its capital ratio will improve by 15 basis points.

The entity is also waiting to complete the sale of its property developer Solvia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios (SDIn) during the next quarter. The funds Cerberus and Oaktree have made it through to the final round of that operation, according to sources.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A. G.)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Gran Roque Seeks Buyer for its 105-Home Residential Project Next to Operación Calderón

23 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Change is afoot in the real estate sector in Madrid. Several property developers have started to put whole developments up for sale ahead of an increasingly likely change in the cycle.

The phenomenon began on the Costa del Sol, where the experts say there is excess supply and where prices could be peaking; and it is now spreading to Madrid, where developers with plans, building permits and pre-sales in place are keen to divest promotions.

Such is the case of the Venezuelans Miguel Ángel and Áxel Capriles, owners of Gran Roque Capital, who have started to sound out the market regarding the sale of one of their residential projects in the capital: Acacias 51, next to the famous Operación Calderón.

The development comprises 105 homes, which have been on the market for a few weeks (initial phase), with asking prices of around €5,700/m2. Gran Roque purchased the site, which already had the necessary urban planning permission, in 2017, for €25 million, equivalent to around €2,900/m2. Now it wants to sell it for between €28 million and €29 million, with the plans and building permits, which would represent an increase of 16%.

The property developer denies the alleged motive but has chosen not to launch a high-profile competitive process or engage a large consultancy firm to coordinate the sale.

The development comprises four 5-storey buildings and one 4-storey building, containing two, three and four-bedroom homes. 20% of the first phase (55 units) has already been reserved.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

OHL Negotiates the Sale of Canalejas for €200M to Raise Liquidity

15 April 2019 – Expansión

The construction group OHL is considering selling its 50% stake in the Canalejas complex in order to raise cash. The other half was acquired by the PokerStars founder, Mark Scheinberg, in February 2017.

Canalejas, which is located in the centre of Madrid, just a stone’s throw from Puerta del Sol, and which is going to house Spain’s first Four Seasons hotel, with 200 rooms and a 15,000 m2 high-end shopping arcade, is one of the jewel’s in OHL’s crown. Nevertheless, the construction company chaired by Juan Villar-Mir de Fuentes, needs funding to undertake new projects and return to growth, and so it is considering selling its 50% stake in the complex.

Although no formal competitive process has been opened, sources report that preliminary conversations are being held with interested investors, including one international fund.

Canalejas spans a surface area of 50,000 m2 and its development has involved the investment of €525 million. The complex is due to open in the final quarter of this year.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo & C. Morán)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake