Ores Acquires Store Leased to Inditex for €11 Million

23 June 2019Idealista

The Ores socimi, which is owned by Bankinter, has just acquired a new commercial space. The store, located in the town of San Sebastián, is currently leased to the Spanish retail giant Inditex and has a total area of ​​729m2.

The store is located at 26 Calle San Marcial and is occupied by a Zara Kids store.

Ores paid €10.9 million for the asset as part of its continuing strategy to seek growth in its home market of Spain. Last year, the socimi paid out almost 180 million euros in acquisitions. Ores Socimi currently has 34 assets in its portfolio, with a market value of over 357 million euros and a gross annual income of 21 million euros.

Original Story: Idealista – Custodio Pareja

Translation/Summary – Richard D. Turner

 

Casual Hoteles to Open 5 New Hotels in 2019

7 March 2019 – Expansión

The Valencia-based hotel chain Casual Hoteles is planning to open four new establishments in Spain in 2019 (in San Sebastián, Cádiz, Valencia and Madrid) and one in Portugal (in Lisbon). The group currently operates 11 hotels and expects to increase revenues by 58% YoY in 2019 to €12 million and to €20 million in 2020.

The firm is also evaluating its expansion into Italy, France, the Netherlands and the UK by 2023 when it expects to have 30 hotels in its portfolio and to generate revenues of €50 million.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Corpfin Sells 5 Commercial Premises in San Sebastián & Valencia for €32.2M

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

Corpfin Sells a Commercial Premise in San Sebastián for €7M

30 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Corpfin is divesting in the north. The Spanish Socimi has sold a commercial premise in the centre of San Sebastián for €7 million. The purchaser of the asset, which is located at number 7 Calle Getaria, is unknown, according to a statement filed with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

Calle Getaria is, together with Calle Hernani y Arrasate, one of the most sought-after streets for the retail market in the Guipuzkoan capital. The asset used to be the headquarters of Kutxa, the savings bank of Guipuzkoa, until 2014 and is now home to a Pull& Bear store, a brand from the Inditex group. This divestment in Euskadi is the second undertaken by the vehicle in recent months, following the sale of Gran Vía 55 in Madrid in September.

In addition, and through Inbest, Corpfin Real Estate has disbursed €250 million in two large operations in Madrid and Valencia during the last quarter. The first was the agreement reached with Riu to acquire the commercial area in Edificio España for €160 million. And that 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

Solvia Sells 3 Hospitals Leased to Quirón for c. €200M

31 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Solvia is making cash with its real estate portfolio. The servicer of Banco Sabadell has sold three buildings in Barcelona, Bilbao and San Sebastián, which are all leased to the hospital group Quirón. The operation has been signed with a domestic investor, whose name has not been revealed. Moreover, the consideration paid for the assets has not been disclosed either.

Owned by the German giant Fresenius, Quirón has long-term rental contracts for these three properties. Solvia said that there has been a lot of interest in the operation from players both at home and overseas.

Hospital Quirón Barcelona is located just five kilometres from the centre of the Catalan capital. The property, constructed in 2006, was renovated in 2017 and contains 187 beds in total.

Hospital Quirón Vizcaya, meanwhile, is located in the town of Erandio, ten kilometres from the centre of Bilbao. That building is home to 110 beds.

Finally, Hospital Quirón San Sebastián (pictured above) forms part of a former palace dating back to 1936 and, subsequently, was converted into a hospital comprising a complex of three buildings. That hospital is located just two kilometres from the centre of the city and has 60 beds in total.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

ASG Homes is Looking for Land in the North of Spain

24 October 2018 – Eje Prime

ASG Homes is raising its head and looking north in its growth plan for Spain. The property developer, a subsidiary of the German group ActivumSG, is analysing residential projects in cities such as Bilbao, San Sebastián, Santander and A Coruña. “We are opening ourselves up to other areas”, says Víctor Pérez Arias, CEO at ASG Homes speaking to Eje Prime. At the same time, ASG Homes is already thinking about launching its sixth fund next year, once it has fully invested the current one

The group’s fifth fund, which specialises in the residential segment in Spain and Germany, still has €200 million to invest, of the almost €500 million that it was created with. To date, the real estate manager has invested around €250 million through ASG Homes.

The objective of the company is to use up the funds during the first quarter of 2019. To this end, the property developer is accelerating its investments so that a dozen projects are ready to come out of the oven “in the very short term”.

Amongst the plans already underway, the firm is constructing and renovating buildings in Valencia, Sevilla, Alicante, Salamanca, Estepona (Málaga) and Alcalá de Henares. In total, a portfolio of seven projects, to which an eighth will soon be added in Marbella.

With more than half a million m2 of land located all over Spain, ASG Homes has the capacity to build up to 5,000 homes, of which more than 2,000 units are already being marketed. Nevertheless, the manager aspires to double the size of that portfolio to 10,000 homes and, in this sense, the property developer is looking to the north of the country, and to Valladolid.

One of the reasons for this open-mindedness is the “uncertainty in terms of the timings” that the fund is finding in several of the provincial capitals where it already has a presence, says Pérez Arias. “There are some cities where we have decided to not invest again because of the problems imposed by some of the public administrations”, complained the director.

The search for opportunities in the north forms part of phase 3 of the fund, as described by the company, which also involves scanning the first rings and outskirts of two of the large capitals where it already has a presence, Madrid and Sevilla. Barcelona does not form part of the roadmap for ASG Homes, which is only investing in large volume projects, for the time being. “We back developments with a minimum of 200 homes”, says Pérez Arias, who forecasts that the last key for the twenty or so developments that his firm is planning to build with its current vehicle will be handed over in 2022 (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s CNMC Takes Madrid, Bilbao & San Sebastián to Court Over Anti-Airbnb Legislation

7 August 2018 – El País

The competition authorities are cracking down on the attempt by some of Spain’s large Town Halls to regulate the boom in tourist apartments, created by Airbnb and its competitors, which many blame for contributing to an increase in residential rental prices and the expulsion of the most underprivileged from the centre of Spain’s cities. The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) announced on Tuesday that it is going to challenge the urban planning rules approved recently in Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastián on the basis that they violate “competition” and harm consumers and users. Other rules, not yet in force, in Barcelona and Valencia, could also be targetted by the CNMC, warn sources at the agency.

Imposing a compulsory licence on those who rent their homes to tourists. Limiting the types of properties that may be leased for short periods. They are some of the measures introduced by the Town Halls that the CNMC is now challenging. And the battle doesn’t stop there. New rules that other cities decide to approve may also clash with the opinion of the market regulator, which is now sending the cases of Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastián to the High Court of their respective autonomous regions. They will have to decide whether to admit the appeals and overturn, in part or in whole, the municipal regulations.

The body chaired by José María Marín Quemada said that it has sent a request to the three municipalities to provide explanations regarding the “need and proportionality” of the restrictions or, failing that, for those restrictions to be annulled. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the CNMC will resort to the courts through a contentious-administrative appeal. The informal talks held so far have made very clear the gulf that separates the independent body from the Town Halls.

In its note, the CNMC details the different regulations that are, in its opinion, deserving of appeal for being measures with “restrictive effects on competition”. Madrid requires a licence for the rental of tourist apartments and homes. The municipality also establishes a period of one year, extendable for one more, before new licences can be granted in areas such as the Centro district. According to the recently approved legislation, the rental of tourist apartments that do not have an independent entrance will be prohibited, which represents 95% of the homes in the city centre.

In both Bilbao and San Sebastián, the regulations limit tourist apartments to ground and first floors only, unless they have independent access from the street. In Bilbao, moreover, tourist apartments need to be authorised and registered; and in San Sebastián new tourist apartments are prohibited in certain parts of the centre.

Higher prices

The Competition authority believes that, with their decisions, the municipal teams in Madrid, Bilbao and San Sebastián “are impeding the entry of new operators and consolidating the position of the existing suppliers of tourist accommodation”. The body has announced that these measures will lead to “higher prices in terms of tourist accommodation” and lower quality, investment and innovation in tourist accommodation in those three cities (…).

The affected municipalities reacted quickly, stating that they will defend their regulations in the courts. The Town Hall of Madrid, governed by Manuela Carmena (Ahora Madrid) said that it wants to combine the defence of tourism with the rights of “citizens in our neighbourhoods”, according to Julio Núñez. “Our objective is introduce regulation that protects the residential use of land and favours competition in a sector where hostels and hotels already operate”, add sources at the Urban Planning Department (…).

Original story: El País (by Luis Doncel)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills IM Buys a Hypermarket in San Sebastián for €48M

23 May 2018 – Expansión

The fund manager Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) has purchased a hypermarket in the Garbera shopping centre in San Sebastián for €48 million.

The agreement, closed with an international institutional investor, has been completed in an off-market operation.

The investment, made by Savills IM on behalf of the European investment fund European Retail Fund (ERF) reflects a net yield of approximately 5%.

The hypermarket has a total surface area of 14,200 m2 and is operated by Eroski.

Specifically, the hypermarket is located on the ground floor of the Garbera shopping centre, which is owned by Unibail Rodamco. It is the dominant shopping centre in the region, according to the fund manager.

Fernando Ramírez de Haro, Director General at Savills Investment Management for Spain and Portugal, said that, with this operation, the fund manager is growing its footprint in the Iberian Peninsula, with a regional portfolio of assets under management amounting to almost €500 million.

“Spain and Portugal are a strategic priority for 2018 and the next few years, both for Savills IM and for its clients and strategic partners. To that end, we are going to continue studying the market in an active way and we are convinced that we will be able to bring to fruition several investment opportunities over the coming months”, added Ramírez de Haro.

Savills IM, with offices in almost twenty cities around the world, was managing assets with a total value of approximately €16.6 billion at the end of last year.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Testa Residencial Acquires 26 Homes in Ensanche de Vallecas (Madrid)

28 December 2017 – Inmodiario

Testa Residencial Socimi, S.A., the largest real estate company in Spain specialising in the residential rental market, has acquired 26 new homes in a building located in the Ensanche de Vallecas in Madrid. The homes, most of which have one bedroom, are located in an area of the Spanish capital where the rental market is booming.

In this way, Testa Residencial is continuing to pursue its strategic growth plan, by expanding its portfolio of assets to include 9,245 homes, whereby strengthening its position of leadership in the residential rental market.

Currently, the company’s portfolio of homes has an occupancy rate of 90% and is located in areas with the highest rates of demand, most notably, in the Community of Madrid, San Sebastián and Cataluña, which account for 65%, 5% and 5% of its turnover, respectively.

The company is continuing to consolidate its position as an efficient platform for residential rental properties, which adapts to the needs of its tenants, in line with the largest residential real estate companies in Europe. Moreover, the corporate loan signed recently grants it considerable growth capacity, which will allow it to gain weight and secure its place as a key player in the country.

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Basque Gov’t Sells Listed Property in San Sebastián for €10.4M

27 December 2017 – El Diario Vasco

The auction of the building located on Plaza de Bilbao in Donostia will generate 48% more than the asking price for the Basque Government.

The former headquarters of the Chamber for Urban Property, which has not been used for six years, was sold by the Basque Government last week for €10.4 million in an auction process. The firm that has acquired the attractive property is a shell company headquartered in Madrid, which was constituted a month ago with the aim of acquiring and operating real estate properties and which will likely convert the building into homes.

The property is one of the three buildings whose curved façades give Plaza de Bilbao its shape. They were designed between 1901 and 1905 by Pedro Arístegui and Carlos Ibero as the finishing touch to the thoroughfare comprising Estación del Norte and the María Cristina bridge. Although the internal layouts of the three homes are different, the façades are the same and the Special Protection Plan for Constructed Urban Properties (Peppuc) protects them – they have been granted grade B status (…).

Ownership of the property was transferred from the (Spanish) State to the Basque Autonomous Community when it became the offices of the Chamber of Urban Property and, following the liquidation thereof in 2006, the building has been in disuse since 2011. The property comprises seven storeys (a ground floor, five normal floors and an attic) and has a surface area of 324 m2 per floor (except the attic, which is slightly smaller). A study performed by the Chamber of Urban Property at the time estimated its economic value at around €18 million.

The Treasury Department of the Basque Government decided to divest this property in light of the expenses that it was generating without any prospects for future use (…).

Seven companies submitted bids, after having deposited a guarantee of €350,347 (equivalent to 5% of the tender amount) and on Thursday last week the bid envelopes were opened and the sale was confirmed.

According to sources, the firm that has acquired the building is a shell company, headquartered in Madrid, and constituted on 21 November 2017, that goes by the name Boyton Invest S.L. (…). The price paid, €10,375,000, is 48.06% higher than the initial asking price (…).

Original story: El Diario Vasco (by Aingeru Munguía)

Translation: Carmel Drake