C&W: 130,000m2 of Office Space Leased in Sant Cugat since 2015

15 March 2018 – Eje Prime

Sant Cugat del Vallès is growing strong in Barcelona’s slipstream. In addition to being one of the most sought-after cities in the residential market, the office sector is also strongly committed to this location, where 130,000 m2 of office space has been leased since 2015. Those figures place the city as the second location of choice for this segment in the province of Barcelona.

Currently, there are more than 3,100 companies installed in the city, with a financial district containing 49 hectares of business parks and more than 62,000 professionals working in its office buildings, according to the Marketshot report prepared by the consultancy firm Cushman&Wakefield.

According to the research, Sant Cugat del Vallès has played a fundamental role in the expansion of Barcelona’s office stock in recent years, evolving from a dormitory city into a nucleus of activity for the services sector, bringing together workers and residents alike.

Since 2015, the number of office rental operations in the city has soared. During that year, a record volume of office space was leased, with more than 75,000 m2 signed. In 2015 and the following year, 54 transactions were signed in the office market, spanning a leasable surface area of 104,000m2, which represented 27% of all the office space leased in the entire province of Barcelona.

In recent years, large operations have been carried out with the arrival of Stradivarius into an office building that spans 26,400 m2; and the leasing of offices to Echevarne, Mapfre and Natura Bissé Internacional, which contracted 12,000 m2, 10,000 m2 and 9,200 m2 of space, respectively.

In terms of the type of office being demanded, in Sant Cugat, prime products stand out. Quality A-rated offices account for 93% of the total space leased in the city, whilst properties rated Quality A/B+ represent 96% of the leasable surface area. These records have generated a significant decrease in the space available in the city.

In 2017, the shortage of available office space in Sant Cugat became clear with the leasing of just 22,000 m2 of space, a much lower figure than had been recorded in previous years. And, currently, the available surface area has been reduced to just 25,500 m2, which represents an availability rate of 4.9%, when just a few years ago, it stood at 30%.

Sant Cugat is a sought-after enclave for sectors such as pharmaceutical, R&D and technology, due to the services, communications and technical quality of the buildings, according to the report. It also highlights the location in the city of the Esadecréapolis knowledge and innovation centre as a “powerful” magnet for those types of companies to set up shop there.

1,800 m2 on average 

Since 2015, the average rental operation in Sant Cugat has amounted to around 1,800 m2, when between 2010 and 2014, the figure was less than half (750 m2).

Today, in Sant Cugat, there is more than 115,000 m2 of potential office space, of which 100,000 m2 is located on buildable land, without a construction start date. The potential for growth in the stock is significant, and if all the projects were to be completed, the office supply in the city (the capital of the office market on the outskirts of Barcelona) would increase by 22%.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sabadell Rents 4,800m2 Of Space From Axiare In Sant Cugats

21 July 2017 – Expansión 

Banco Sabadell is expanding its facilities in Sant Cugat (Barcelona) with the aim of accommodating the growth of its IT services and addressing the challenge associated with the technological integration of the British bank TSB.

The entity chaired by Josep Oliu has leased 4,845 m2 from the Socimi Axiare Patrimonio, owner of the ParCugat building, where it will occupy half of the available floors. Sabadell will transfer 350 employees to the property, of which 40% are employed by the bank and 60% are employed by its subsidiary Sabadell Information Systems (Sabis), the bank’s software factory, which its controls 100%.

Some of these employees used to work in the historical building in the centre of the city of Sabadell (Barcelona), where now, instead of 1,900 people, there will be 1,600 employees, dedicated to both technological functions (800 people) and other departments within the entity.

Following this operation, Sabadell will have three corporate buildings in Sant Cugat. In addition to its main headquarters, known as the CBS building, it will have the building leased from Axiare and Colonial’s offices, which it started leasing last year – and where 800 employees work – to centralise the TSB integration process and the creation of the British bank’s new technological platform, known as Proteo4UK.

In total, Sabadell has assigned a team of 1,500 people to “unplug” TSB from Lloyds’ IT system and connect it to its own network. The process is being led by Sabis, although several technology partners are participating in it, such as Accenture, Everis, Indra, GFT, IBM, HP and BT.

The big bang, i.e. the date on which the integration will culminate, is scheduled for the weekend of 4-5 November. The success of the operation is key for Sabadell, given that Lloyds will pay it GBP 450 million to finance the costs associated with the new platform.

Original story: Expansión (by S. Saborit and M. Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

 

Axiare Acquires 12,000 m2 Office Building In Barcelona For €19.5M

27 March 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Axiare Patrimonio has closed its first purchase following the capital increase announced in March. The Socimi has invested €19.5 million in the acquisition of an office building that has a GLA of 12,000 m2 and more than 400 parking spaces. The building, which was constructed recently, comprises several floors measuring 2,500 m2 each, as well as an auditorium with capacity for 200 people. According to the Socimi, the building will generate annual rental income of €1.25 million over the next two years.

The asset is located on Avenida Can Fatjó dels Aurons in Sant Cugat, Barcelona. Sant Cugat is a strategic area for offices in Barcelona, with direct connections to the C-16 and AP-7 motorways and a 5-minute walk from the Sant Joan train station. The area is home to many institutional owners including Mapfre, Axa, Catalana Occidente, Banco Sabadell and Merlin and tenants of the calibre of Hewlett-Packard, TVE, Deutsche Bank, Banco Sabadell, Mapfre, Nespresso and Gas Natural. Sant Cugat has been extremely sought after by tenants is recent times and currently has one of the highest occupancy rates in Barcelona.

The CEO of Axiare Patrimonio, Luis López de Herrera Oria states that “we have purchased a magnificent office building for a price that is 27% below its repositioning cost and with a great potential to increase in value”.

Following this operation, during the first three months of 2017, Axiare Patrimonio has invested €157.9 million on the purchase of four tertiary-use properties, with a combined surface area of 46,354 m2 and almost 1,300 parking spaces. This property formed part of the pipeline announced by the Socimi when it presented its annual results for 2016 on 27 February.

For this operation, Axiare Patrimonio has been advised by EY, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Estrada & Partners.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

 

Aquila Capital Acquires Residential Project In Sant Cugat

7 January 2016 – Expansión

The German alternative asset manager Aquila Capital has acquired a residential project under construction in Sant Cugat (Barcelona). It is a high-end project involving the development of 40 homes measuring 250m2 each.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake