Tag: shopping centre

BNP Paribas: RE Investment Rose by 8% in 2018 to €11.6bn

9 January 2019 – El Periódico

The volume of annual investment in the Spanish real estate sector amounted to €11.63 billion in 2018, which represented an increase of 8% compared to 2017. If we add the corporate operations with underlying real estate to that volume, then the figure increases to €19 billion, which represents an investment record since the end of the crisis, according to the latest report from BNP Paribas Real Estate in Spain. The report highlights that interest from investors in the Spanish real estate sector in 2018 was at its highest level for a decade.

During the fourth quarter of the year, the volume of direct investment in real estate assets – offices, logistics warehouses, hotels, retail and residential – amounted to €3.7 billion in total, which represented an increase of 58% YoY. The evolution of investor activity, therefore, exceeded the expectations of the sector at the beginning of the year.

“The good times that the fundamentals of the market are enjoying, with occupancy levels at maximums and rents that are stable or expanding in the most consolidated markets, together with the surplus capital and the limited alternatives offered by other financial products, have fostered a frenetic pace of activity in the investment market”, explains the report.

By type of asset, the commercial sector (retail) was the star of the year. The volume invested in commercial assets during 2018 amounted to €4.28 billion, which represents an increase of 23% compared to 2017. During the fourth quarter, investment reached €1.26 billion, and so the sector achieved a quarterly market share of 35%. The largest operation during the final quarter of the year was the purchase of a portfolio of three shopping centres – Max Center, Gran Casa and Valle Real – by Sonae Sierra and Perter Varbacka for €485 million.

Commercial yields

Demand from investors for high street retail assets was high, given that they consider them to be a very stable product. Similarly, there was a high interest in land for the development of retail parks, in light of the scarce supply of this type of asset. The yields continued at 3.00% for prime premises; between 5.00% and 5.25% for prime shopping centres; and at 5.75% for prime retail parks.

In terms of the office market, the investment volume recorded during the fourth quarter was €986 million taking the total figure for the year to €2.228 billion. That represented a slight YoY decrease of 4%. The shortage of products for sale meant that fewer operations materialised in 2018 than in 2017. The prime yield in the office market remained at 3.25% in Madrid and 3.50% in Barcelona.

The logistics market continues to rise. The increase in e-commerce and the strong performance of the consumer sector and the economy, in general, have encouraged investment in this type of asset. The investment volume registered during the fourth quarter of the year amounted to €400 million, whilst the total figure for the year (€1.3 billion) represented a new investment record, and an increase of 30% compared to 2017. The shortage of products, combined with the high investment pressure resulted in a considerable adjustment in yields, which amounted to 5.30% in the prime logistics market in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Investors

Investment funds were the great stars of the market, representing 61% of the total volume transacted in 2018. Socimis have been very present in the investment market, both on the buy and sell sides in the main land transactions to develop new products. Finally, the presence of family offices (private investors) stood out, with acquisitions, in general, for volumes of less than €50 million.

Alternative investments remained in the spotlight of investors, who were mainly attracted by student residences, clinics and nursing homes for the elderly. The cumulative volume invested in those types of assets amounted to €600 million in 2018.

Original story: El Periódico (by Max Jiménez Botías)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmila Acquires La Verónica Shopping Centre in Antequera for €16M

4 January 2019 – Diario Sur

Carmila, Carrefour’s real estate subsidiary, has acquired a shopping centre spanning 12,000 m2 in Antequera for €16.1 million plus eight other establishments across Spain for €9.6 million, bringing the total investment made by the firm to €25.7 million.

The La Verónica shopping centre, which comprises 57 retail premises, is located in an expanding business area of the city in the province of Málaga, adjacent to a Carrefour hypermarket, which the French company purchased from Eroski, according to a statement issued yesterday to this newspaper.

The stores are home to brands such as Inditex, OVS Kids and Springfield, and the shopping centre also has a multi-screen cinema. According to Carmila’s estimates, with the current renovation of the complex, the shopping centre will offer organic growth over the medium term, which will increase its profitability by up to 100 basis points.

The other eight establishments acquired by the real estate company across Spain include six stores located in a shopping centre that already formed part of its portfolio and two other shops that the group will end up buying in the second half of the year.

In addition, Carmila has completed the sale of a batch of medium-sized stores to Klépierre, owner of the Turin-Grugliasco shopping centre, located in the Italian city, for €16.3 million.

Original story: Diario Sur 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eurofund Purchases a 140,000 m2 Plot in Lleida from Sareb

19 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Eurofund’s new macro-project in Lleida is taking shape. The group has completed the purchase from the Company for the Management of Assets proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System (Sareb) of 140,000 m2 of land in Torre Salses (Lleida). Eurofund’s plans involve investing €80 million to build a new shopping centre with a gross leasable area of 560,000 m2.

The purchase, carried out through Eurofund Parc Lleida, has been completed after Eurofund overcame Sareb’s processes, in particular, those relating to overseas investments. On 4 December, Eurofund Parc Lleida signed an urban planning management agreement with the Town Hall of the Catalan town to execute the widening and extension of Calle Víctor Torres and the modification of the urban planning order for the South 42 Torre Salses sector. The building work is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2019, according to Eje Prime.

Grupo Eurofund

Eurofund currently owns more than €3.5 billion in commercial assets, including the centres that it has constructed and those that it has under development. The fund manager was founded in 1994 and its first major development was Parc Vallès, in Terrassa (Barcelona).

The company is the owner of complexes such as Puerto Venecia, in Zaragoza, and maintains an alliance with the British operator Intu for the construction of new shopping centres in Málaga, Valencia and Vigo. Over the last 18 months, Eurofund Capital Partners has co-invested almost €350 million in real estate operations in Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

GGC Acquires El Mirador de Jinámar Shopping Centre for €45M

30 November 2018 – Eje Prime

General de Galerías Comerciales is now the owner of El Mirador de Jinámar. The Socimi led by the Murcian businessman Tomás Olivo has acquired the commercial complex located in the Canary Islands for €45 million. The company has been advised by Cushman & Wakefield during the operation.

El Mirador de Jinámar is the largest retail space in the Canary Islands. The asset has a total surface area of 50,000 m2, of which 11,300 m2 is dedicated to the first hypermarket that Eroski opened in the region. In fact, the Spanish supermarket chain is one of the drivers of the complex, together with the property developer Ambrosio Jiménez.

Since November 2010, the Mirador de Jinámar has housed a total of 120 establishments in its commercial area. Distributed over two floors, some of the tenants of the property include firms from the Inditex group, as well as H&M, Cortefiel and Primark (whose store exceeds 5,000 m2, making it the Irish company’s largest in the Canary Islands).

The complex is located in Jinámar, a neighbourhood located between the municipalities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde, the two most important cities on the island. The complex also has a parking area with capacity for more than 40,000 vehicles. In a second phase, which is still pending, the centre is planning to expand its offer to include 45,000 m2 of additional space, which will be allocated to DIY and homeware firms (…).

Meanwhile, General de Galerías Comerciales made its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) in July 2017. The company has twenty years of experience undertaking its activity right across the value chain, from the purchase of land to the management of assets.

The main assets in its portfolio are retail parks and shopping centres in Spain, such as La Cañada (Marbella), Mediterráneo (Almería), Mataró Parc (Mataró), Gran Plaza (Almería), Las Dunas and Nevada Shopping (Granada). The company also has an extensive portfolio of residential assets and retail premises, as well as land, primarily in the south of Spain. When the company made its debut on the MAB, its portfolio of assets was worth €1.9 billion.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona’s Diagonal Mar Reopens After a €29M Refurb

14 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Diagonal Mar is reopening its doors. The shopping centre, located in the Catalan capital and owned by Deutsche Bank, has opened again after being subjected to a comprehensive refurbishment since July last year, in which €29 million has been invested.

Following the renovation, the complex has expanded its commercial surface area by 7,500 m2, which will allow it to welcome fifteen new retail operators and to create 150 new jobs. Moreover, Diagonal Mar has also renovated the restaurant area with seven new additions and thirteen renovated premises.

Diagonal Mar, which first opened in 2001, is located in the 22@ district of Barcelona. Now, the complex has a total surface area of more than 90,000 m2 distributed across 200 establishments dedicated to commercial and leisure activities.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona’s El Triangle Shopping Centre: 20 Years On

13 November 2018 – Eje Prime

El Triangle is growing up. One of the most iconic shopping centres in Barcelona, owned by the Immobilien Investment fund, which forms part of the Deka group, is celebrating its twentieth birthday in a context marked by the rise of e-commerce and the arrival of technology start-ups in search of offices on the most prime thoroughfares.

“Due to our location and facilities, many retailers choose to open their flagship stores in our shopping centre”, explains Joan Mas, manager of El Triangle, speaking to Eje Prime. In fact, in recent years, brands such as Urban Outfitters and Sephora have decided to back the Barcelona shopping centre with their flagship stores, a shop format that enhances the consumer experience.

In this sense, the director believes that e-commerce, far from representing a challenge, has become an opportunity for this shopping centre, which is located at number 1 Plaza Cataluña, in the heart of the Catalan capital. “Although shopping from home is more convenient for retail clients, the centre of the city is always going to be a busy area that attracts a lot of visitors”, adds Mas.

Currently, El Triangle has an occupancy rate of 100%, both in terms of its 14,000 m2 of gross leasable area (GLA) used for retail, as well as its 11,000 m2 dedicated to office space. According to explanations provided by the executive, the gradual increase in rental prices has not caused any problems when it comes to attracting tenants. “Demand has not ceased at any point, we are the ones who choose which brands and companies we want to carry out their activity in the building”, he said.

Proof of that is the arrival of two new operators to El Triangle between the end of 2018 and 2019. On the one hand, Lacoste is soon going to occupy 150 m2 in the shopping centre with the opening of one of its flagship stores. On the other hand, the restaurant chain Five Guys will arrive next year to lease the space that was operated by Masvisión until October.

Technology arrives at the offices in El Triangle

Although large brands are continuing to conquer the leisure and retail space in El Triangle, there has been a change in the trend in the space dedicated to offices in recent years. “Whilst at the beginning, most of the companies that entered as tenants were companies specialising in financial services and banks, recently, our building has been welcoming a significant number of technology firms”.

For example, Skyscanner and My Taxi are some of the companies that have their offices at number 1 Plaza Cataluña. Alongside them operate the coworking giant Regus and the company specialising in video games MSI. With an occupancy rate of 100%, multinationals from the FMCG sector also operate in the property, such as Bacardi, which recently leased a whole floor in the building, spanning 2,700 m2 in total (…).

With more than 150 million visitors from more than 120 countries, El Triangle opened its doors on 12 November 1998. Three years ago, its owner started to modernise the property, with an investment of €1.4 million. The most iconic boulevard of the Catalan capital currently houses 22 retail and restaurant premises, with brands such as Havaianas, Fnac, Sephora and Starbucks, amongst others.

Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bogaris Invests €25M in its New Shopping Centre in León

31 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Bogaris is on a roll in Spain following the opening of the Torrecárdenas shopping centre last week. The company, which specialises in the development of large commercial, logistics and industrial spaces, has invested €25 million in the development of its new shopping centre in León, according to comments made by the company’s Director General, Javier Marín, to Eje Prime.

The plot on which the Reino de León shopping centre is going to be located spans a total surface area of 54,000 m2. Of that space, Bogaris’s project will occupy a gross leasable area (GLA) of 26,000 m2, and tenants have already been identified for more than half: Leroy Merlín will occupy 10,000 m2 and Decathlon is going to lease another 4,000 m2.

The Reino de León shopping centre will also have other operators, such as Conforama, McDonald’s and Kiwoko. “We still need to find a tenant for an 800 m2 unit that we want to dedicate to the food sector”, said Marín. Nevertheless, the company is determined to start work on the construction of the complex between the end of this year and the beginning of 2019.

Bogaris also has another project underway that it is planning to start work on at the same time as Reino de León. That is a shopping centre in Lisbon, located on a plot with a buildable surface area of 23,000 m2 and around 45,000 m2 of land. In that case, the company has already confirmed Leroy Merlin, Conforama and the hypermarket chain Continente Modelo as tenants.

Currently, the group is working on other new projects, in the marketing and urban development phases, in Cataluña, Levante, Andalucía and Castilla y León. (…).

For the time being, the company wants to consolidate its presence in the Iberian Peninsula, although it does not rule out expanding overseas at some point (…).

With more than twenty years of experience, the group has its headquarters in Andalucía, the region where it began its activity, firstly by investing in the industrial sector and then in supermarkets (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

VIA Outlets will Start Renovating its Shopping Centre in Sevilla in Q4

11 October 2018 – Eje Prime

VIA Outlets has a start date for the remodelling and expansion of its shopping centre in Sevilla. The European group is going to start the building work on its Sevilla Fashion Outlet before the end of the year, according to explanations provided by the company to Eje Prime. The start of the complex’s reconstruction coincides with the opening of Torre Sevilla, owned by CaixaBank, and the relaunch in 2019 of Palmas Altas, owed by Lar España.

The company is going to invest more than €13 million in this comprehensive renovation project of the Sevillan outlet centre, the group’s second largest in Spain, after its complex in Mallorca. Amongst other aspects, “the building work will include the reconfiguration of the restaurant and food area”, says the company, which is also going to increase the number of parking spaces by approximately 40%.

In terms of aesthetic considerations, the renovation will involve a general remodelling of the centre, which will include a new façade, a renovated entrance and new common areas. “This, as a whole, will contribute to repositioning Sevilla Fashion Outlet as the only premium outlet in Andalucía”, says the group.

The retail complex has been owned by VIA Outlets since January 2017, when it purchased it from the fund Irus European Retail Property. With a surface area spanning 16,400 m2, Sevilla Fashion Outlet has already started the work to recondition and expand the complex’s parking area.

Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between  APG, Hammerson, Value Retail and Meyer Bergman, VIA Outlets has seen rapid growth in the real estate retail market. In just four years, the group has acquired eleven centres around Europe and, recently, it recruited two new senior managers. They were Otto Ambagtsheer (formerly of Unibail-Rodamco), who has been appointed as the Operations Director, and Peter Stals (formerly Blackrock),  who is the company’s new Finance Director (…).

The portfolio of VIA Outlets spans a gross leasable area (GLA) of more than 259,000 m2 and is home to more than 850 brands across the nine European countries in which it has a presence. In 2017, the group’s eleven centres recorded sales of more than €1 billion and were visited by more than 30 million people.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Deutsche Bank Puts its Socimi Trajano Iberia Up for Sale

9 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Trajano Iberia is up for sale. The Socimi, managed by the real estate investment division of Deutsche Asset Management, has expressed its willingness to receive offers to assess the possible sale of its shareholding, according to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB). Trajano controls the Alcalá Magna shopping centre, for which it paid €100 million in 2016.

The listed company has requested the services of Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank to sound out the market. The group has expressed its desire to find out about “the potential interest in purchasing shares that represent more than 50% of its share capital”.

Trajano Iberia recorded net profits of €2.63 million between January and June 2018, compared with €3.5 million during the same period in 2017. Despite the decrease in its net result, the listed company recorded revenues of €983 million during the first half of the year, up by 11.7% compared to the same period in 2017.

The Socimi, in which the Alcaraz family, the founders of the vehicle renting company Goldcar, holds a 10.5% stake, currently has five real estate assets in its portfolio: a mixed-use commercial and office building in Bilbao; a shopping centre in Portugal; an office complex in the north of Madrid; four logistics warehouses on the Campus Plaza industrial estate in Zaragoza; and a shopping centre in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).

Trajano Iberia’s last major acquisition was its purchase of the Alcalá Magna shopping centre at the end of 2016. The company disbursed €100 million to acquire that asset located in the Spanish capital, which has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 34,165 m2 distributed over two levels.

The space, constructed in 2007 and with an occupancy rate of 95%, receives almost 5 million visitors per year and accumulates annual sales of around €64 million. Its tenants include firms such as Mercadona, Grupo Inditex and Mango, amongst others.

The company, which made its stock market debut in July 2015, reordered its Board of Directors in April. The company appointed Luis Antoñanzas, one of those responsible for the entity’s great fortunes, as CEO following the resignation of Carlos Gálvez Díaz de Bustamante, according to explanations provided by the group at the time.

Since then, Trajano Iberia’s Board has comprised 11 representatives, including José Moya, Chairman of the Board,  Vicente Fernández and Brigit Gabriele, as representatives of Deutsche Bank. Moreover, the Socimi’s management body includes representatives from companies such as Alcor, Dogalcar, Falagal and CNP Partners.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

CaixaBank Considers Selling Torre Sevilla Following its Opening

4 October 2018 – Eje Prime

CaixaBank is considering divesting Torre Sevilla. The financial institution is working on the sale of the mixed-used complex a week after the opening of its shopping centre. The bank, which is whereby pushing ahead with the divestment of its real estate assets, will assess offers upwards of €265 million.

Torre Sevilla has a surface area of 77,000 m2 spread over 37 floors for offices and a shopping centre. Although sources at CaixaBank confirm that the sale of the complex has not been initiated, they acknowledge that it is a “non-strategic” asset and that some funds are interested in acquiring it, according to reports from El Confidencial.

If the sale goes ahead, it would be the largest operation in the south of Spain in recent years by type of asset and asking price. The financial institution would retain ownership of the Caixaforum only, which is located on the lower levels of the shopping centre and which officially opened in 2018.

CaixaBank has injected a total of €110 million into the complex over the last six years, bringing the total cost to €320 million. The skyscraper was inaugurated in 2016 and the shopping centre was opened last week. Currently, tenants of the building include the Sevilla Chamber of Commerce, Deloitte, the technological firms Chakray, Everis, Active Business&Technology and Optima, and also Hotusa, which occupies 17 floors of the property with a hotel. The Catalan bank also has several subsidiaries and services on a number of floors.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake