Tag: spain

Savills IM: Inv’t of €500M per Year Until 2022 Following Purchase of Aguirre Newman

26 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) is getting its chequebook out in Spain. The fund manager of the real estate consultancy firm is looking for new investments in the country six months after integrating Zaphir Asset Management into its structure under the framework of the acquisition of Aguirre Newman by Savills. Savills IM’s plans involve investing €500 million per year in Spain until 2022.

According to explanations provided by Fernando Ramírez de Haro, Director of the Savills IM office in Spain, speaking to Eje Prime, the fund manager forecasts building an asset portfolio on the Iberian Peninsula worth €2 billion, up from its current value of €480 million.

The company is now starting an ambitious positioning strategy in Spain, “having completed the integration of Zaphir”. Ramírez de Haro, who leads Savills IM’s office following the corporate operation, served as the Director General of Zaphir since 2007. Savills announced the acquisition of Aguirre Newman in July last year, but the operation was not completed until December when Savills IM integrated Zaphir.

The company is currently analysing investments worth €750 million in Spain, although the group is also considering entering the Portuguese market. Even though in 2017, the company’s most active markets were the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan, the forecasts of Ramírez de Haro indicate that Spain will become the fourth most important European market for the group, behind the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany.

Savills IM’s current portfolio in Spain comprises thirteen assets or projects. Half of them correspond to investments in offices, 25% to retail, 17% to residential and 7% to logistics, according to Ramírez de Haro. One of the most recent operations signed by the group was the purchase, in May, of a hypermarket operated by Eroski in San Sebastián for €48 million.

The executive maintains that the company is looking for opportunities across the four segments, especially in retail and offices. “I do not want to say that logistics is not important, it is and very much so, but it is the segment that is suffering from the most acute shortage in terms of supply”, he said. “In terms of retail, a negative vision is coming from the USA, but for us, that is not the case, provided you look for assets that are not so dependent on online sales, such as retail parks, high street stores, outlets and shopping centres linked to food”, he maintains.

Savills IM combines three types of operations: the first is the management of funds raised in Europe (especially in Germany): the second involves the mandates of global investors; and the third is to support value-added funds in their investments in Europe. Whilst in the first case, the average investment in terms of own funds is between €20 million and €80 million, international mandates tend to be upwards of €100 million and value-added operations typically range between €15 million and €100 million.

The fund manager has a workforce of sixteen people in Spain, fifteen of whom come from the former Zaphir structure and one from Savills IM. The group expects to have 22 employees in five years time.

On the global stage, Savills IM has a workforce of 300 employees and eighteen offices. In 2017, the group recorded transactions worth €5.5 billion: €4.5 billion in Europe and €1 billion in Asia. The company plans to spend €1 billion in own funds in 2018 for the acquisition of new assets in Europe and Asia.

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo & P. Riaño)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Airbnb Unveils New Tool to Help Town Hall of Barcelona Crack Down on Illegal Operators

28 May 2018 – Eje Prime

A new approach in the collaboration between Airbnb and the Town Hall of Barcelona. The US company has announced the launch of a new technological tool that will provide the City Council with access to data about its hosts, such as their full name, DNI and address.

That will allow the authorities to identify those flats that do not comply with local regulations. Currently, the Town Hall is reviewing a list of potential illegal operators, as part of a procedure established by the law agreed between it and Airbnb.

Through this new tool, Airbnb’s hosts will indicate whether their accommodation should be registered by law or not, and they will give their consent for some of their personal data to be shared with the Town Hall of Barcelona. This measure, which will facilitate the work of the City Hall to eliminate potential illegal operators, will enter into force on Friday 1 June.

“By working together, Airbnb and the Town Hall of Barcelona can help more local families to share their homes, comply with the law and generate new sources of income to strengthen our neighbourhoods”, said Arnaldo Muñoz, Director General of Airbnb in Spain, in a statement.

Since last summer, collaboration between the US group and the Town Hall has resulted in the withdrawal of more than 2,500 adverts and the introduction of a limit of one advert per host for apartments located in Ciutat Vella.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mapfre Divested Non-Strategic Assets Worth €130M in 2017

7 May 2018 – Eje Prime

The insurance company Mapfre is still interested in the Spanish real estate sector, but it is divesting certain assets that it considers to be non-strategic in the country. The company sold properties worth €130 million in the Spanish market last year, according to information presented in the group’s annual report for 2017. The most high profile sales were carried out in Madrid and included the Luchana building, amongst others.

During the year, divestments amounting to around €130 million were carried out in Spain and Portugal. Highlights include the sale of a plot of land in Valdemarín (Madrid) for €5.5 million and two plots in Palma de Mallorca for €22.5 million, plus a series of other smaller assets for €24.5 million in total.

One of Mapfre’s main divestment operations last year was the sale of the Luchana building to GMP for €72 million. It is an exempt asset, dating back to the beginning of the 1980s, located just six minutes from Paseo de la Castellana by foot.

GMP is currently renovating that property, which spans a gross leasable area of 14,424 m2, spread over eleven above ground floors in total, ten office floors and one commercial-use floor at street level. Its main tenant is Mapfre, which houses the headquarters of its General Regional Management team for Madrid and Verti in this building.

In total, all of the operations signed in the Iberian Peninsula generated gains of more than €65 million for Mapfre, according to the annual report.

Investment in its asset stock in Spain 

But Mapfre has not only been selling assets in Spain, it has also been feeding its portfolio by investing in the renovation of its properties. The insurance group has undertaken improvement work on its portfolio in Madrid, where it has finished work on an asset it owns on Calle Sor Ángela de la Cruz amounting to €8 million, where the General Regional team for Madrid is located; and work on Plaza de la Independencia amounting to €7.39 million. That building has already been leased out for the most part (70% of the leasable surface area).

In addition, Mapfre has started refurbishment work on the facilities of its property on Calle Mateo Inurria, a building that has been leased in its entirety to the Ministry of Finance for a rental cost of €5.04 million per year. Improvement work on its offices on Calle General Perón is still underway with an investment of €5.81 million in 2017. Work is also still underway on the tower in Barcelona amounting to €22 million in 2017, which is expected to be completed during the first half of 2018.

At the end of 2017, the market value of Mapfre’s real estate investments in Spain amounted to €2.945 billion, “with latent capital gains of more than €750 million”, explains the group. Of the total, approximately 58% corresponds to properties for own use, and the remaining 42% relates to properties that are rented out to third parties or are on the market for sale. The occupancy ratio of the rental properties amounts to 83%, considering that at the moment, more than 7,500 m2 of its space is being renovated for repositioning on the market from 2018 onwards.

Commitment to Europe 

In March, the insurance group announced its partnership with GLL to launch a fund to invest up to €300 million in the purchase of prime offices in Europe over a two to three year period.

The new vehicle launched by Mapfre and GLL aims to enter large capitals cities across the continent (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium) with the aim of achieving returns of between 4% and 6% per year and diversifying its portfolio against other types of financial assets (…).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Marathon & Colliers Team Up to Finance €200M of Land Purchases in Spain

25 April 2018 – Expansión

MCAP, one of the funds managed by Marathon, is going to offer financing to property developers and cooperatives for the acquisition of finalist land amounting to €200 million.

The current objective of many international investment funds is to take advantage of the strong performance of the house buying market in Spain at the moment, either through the launch of their own property developers or by forming alliances with third parties.

The latest to join the bandwagon is the US manager Marathon Asset Management. The firm has announced that it is going to allocate €200 million to finance the purchase of finalist land in the Spanish market through its London-based subsidiary.

The resources, which come from funds managed by MCAP Global Finance UK, will be shared between property developers and cooperative managers in search of alternative financing and bridge loans for their projects.

The objective is to finance up to 75% of the land value (LTV) depending on the commercial viability of each project, explained sources at Colliers Internacional, Marathon’s partner in this plan. “We expect to close financing agreements amounting to more than €100 million over the next six months”, said Mikel Echavarren, CEO of Colliers International.

The team at Colliers plans to close the first agreements with cooperatives and property developers that are carrying out projects located in Madrid, Málaga, Valencia and Sevilla over the next few weeks. The minimum investment volumes will amount to between €2 million and €3 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

MGM Muthu Hotels Buys Second Hotel in Tenerife

22 December 2015 – Hosteltur

MGM Muthu Hotels has purchased the 4-star Hotel Golf Plaza, located in the south of Tenerife, containing 174 rooms. It represents the firm’s second establishment on the island together with the 3-star Muthu Royal Park Albatros. The Singapore-based group declined to reveal the consideration of the operation.

With the Grand Muthu Golf Plaza Hotel, the chain is strengthening its offer oriented at both family and couples vacations, with rooms adapted to the tastes and needs of both types of consumer at the two establishments.

Currently, MGM Muthu Hotels owns seventeen 3- to 5-star hotels in Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, India and Singapore. In Spain, besides the two properties in Tenerife, the company owns the Grangefield Oasis Club on the Costa del Sol, and the Infiniti Beach Resort in Almería.

Soon, the firm is going to open a 5-star hotel containing 500 rooms in Cayo Coco (Cuba), the Gran Muthu Cayo Coco, as Hosteltur revealed, which will be the first hotel owned by an Asian chain in Cuba.

The Group is now also negotiating the acquisition of hotels in Lourdes (France), Punta Cana and Riviera Maya to incorporate them in 2016 and whereby continue with its expansion.

Original story: Hosteltur

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain No Longer Features in EU’s Top 10 Home Ownership Ranking

23 March 2018 – El País

77.8% of citizens resident in Spain own their own homes. In this way, the country was placed in 13th position in the ranking of European Union (EU) countries in terms of this parameter in 2016, one place below its position the previous year – after being overtaken by the Czech Republic – according to data from the European statistics institute Eurostat, and well outside of the Top 10. Compared to the European average (69.2%), the Spanish figures are still high, although each year, the percentage of homeowners is decreasing slightly to the benefit of the rental market. Ownership fever dominates in Eastern Europe, in particular, where the percentage exceeds 90% in many countries.

In 2007, the first year for which Eurostat compiled data for Spain, the country was ranked in 9th place in terms of the number of citizens owning their own home, with a percentage of 80.6%. Thus, between then and 2016, the rate has been decreasing slightly at the same time as the rates in other countries have been increasing, relegating Spain to lower positions in the ranking.

“In Spain, home ownership is decreasing slightly each year due to the economic conditions and the difficulty in accessing a mortgage”, explains José García Montalvo, Professor at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra, who points out that nowadays you need to have a permanent (employment) contract to be granted a mortgage, whereas, in 2007, you could have been a temporary worker. García Montalvo also argues that society has changed and young people – who are finding it harder to access real estate loans due to their employment conditions – regard the purchase of a home as a “problem” (…).

The professor says that the price of rental homes is rising due to greater demand, and he does not think that the decrease in home ownership is a phenomenon that is going to reverse despite the rent increases. In 2017, the price of rental homes in Spain recorded its third annual rise. The average price grew by 8.9% in 2017, the highest ever increase in the historical series of the real estate portal Fotocasa’s index, which has been compiling data since January 2006.

Eastern European countries lead the home-ownership statistics

In 2016, Romania was the country where the highest percentage of citizens owned their own home, with 96%. It was followed by Lithuania, with 90.3%; Croatia and Macedonia, with 90%; Slovakia (89.5%); Hungary with 86.3%; Poland, with 83.4%; Bulgaria (82.3%); Estonia and Malta, with 81.4%; Latvia with 80.9% and the Czech Republic with 78.2%. “The countries where citizens are most committed to buying their own home are primarily those in Eastern Europe. This is partly a result of the fact that many of those regions were communist countries and that when the market was opened up, it was shared out and everyone got involved”, says García Montalvo.

By contrast, the data from Eurostat shows that the citizens of countries with more consolidated economies back the rental market to a greater extent over the acquisition of home. Thus, Germany leads this category with 51.7% of its citizens owning their own home, followed by Austria, with 55%; and Denmark with 62%. Nevertheless, none of these countries fall below 50%, although the percentages are decreasing every year, opting for a rental model. The EU average stands at 69.2%, more than 8 percentage points below the figure in Spain.

“Rental is favoured in countries where labour mobility is higher such as in Germany and Austria. In Spain, it would be great if that was the case to boost labour mobility because ownership ties people down a lot (…).

Original story: El País (by Nahiara S. Alonso)

Translation: Carmel Drake

HFF Announces €110M Financing for Acquisition and Redevelopment of Ikos Andalucía

19 March 2018 – Business Wire

HFF Real Estate Limited (HFF) announces the €110 million first mortgage financing for the acquisition and redevelopment of Ikos Andalucía, a 400-room, luxury seafront resort in Andalucía’s coastal area of Estepona.

The HFF team has worked on behalf of the borrower, Ikos International, to place the five-year, floating-rate loan with Starwood European Finance Partners Limited, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group. The loan proceeds will be used to acquire an existing hotel and institute a property improvement plan that includes reconstructing and refurbishing all existing hotel rooms, enhancing the arrival and lobby experience, expanding and repurposing the public spaces and rebranding the asset to the Infinite Lifestyle concept of the Ikos Resorts brand.

Created only three years ago, Ikos Resorts is an innovative owner-operator of luxury all-inclusive resorts throughout the Mediterranean that currently manages two operating properties in Greece with two others being delivered in May 2018 and May 2019, respectively (…) Ikos Andalucía, which will be the fifth hotel within the Ikos Resorts’ platform, is the venture’s inaugural resort in Spain (…).

Ikos International 

Ikos International, established in 2018, by main shareholders Andreas Andreadis, Mathieu Guillemin, Oaktree Capital Management LP, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Hermes GPE and two family offices is responsible for the international expansion of Ikos Resorts, a leading European luxury hospitality company with in excess of 1,800 rooms being owned and operated or under development (…).

About HFF

HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry (…).

Original story: Business Wire

Edited by: Carmel Drake

EU Concern Over Rapid House Price Rises in Spain

21 March 2018 – Eje Prime

Spain is now one of the countries in the European Union (EU) where house prices are growing the fastest. The Spanish residential market ended 2017 with an average growth in prices of 7.2%, exceeding the YoY variation rates in most of the continent’s major economic powers such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, according to data from Eurostat.

This data, together with the bubble that the country suffered during the final years of the last decade and the beginning of this one, have raised concerns beyond Spain’s borders. There, according to reports by Cinco Días, observers see that the pattern of the previous bullish phase is being repeated.

During the third quarter of the year, for example, house prices across the EU markets as a whole increased by 4.1% in nominal terms. Out of all the countries in the Union, five stood out for their double-digit growth, namely: the Czech Republic (12.3%), Ireland (12.0%), Hungary (10.2%), the Netherlands (10.2%) and Portugal (10.4%).

Established economies such as the German, French and British saw their house prices rise by around 3%. Specifically, the price of housing in France grew by 3.1% last year; in the United Kingdom, the increase amounted to 2.8%; and in Germany, 1.8%. Meanwhile, Italy continued to see price decreases in its residential sector, with a reduction of 2% YoY last year. By city, London, Amsterdam, Madrid and Dublin are going to be the metropolises where prices grow by the most in 2018, with double-digit rises forecast, according to a study by Dbrs.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Adveo Puts 4 Warehouses Up For Sale for €40M

18 March 2018 – Eje Prime

Adveo is continuing with its divestments. The Spanish wholesale group, which specialises in office equipment and services, has put four warehouses up for sale, three of which are located in Spain, through which it hopes to raise €40 million.

The domestic assets are located in Madrid, País Vasco and La Rioja, whilst the fourth asset is located in Belgium. The proceeds from the divestment will be used to continue reducing the debt, according to sources at the company, whose liabilities amount to €190 million. The objective of the company is to reduce that figure by €10 million in 2018, according to Expansión.

In January, Adveo completed another sale in France. On that occasion, the group sold a warehouse to the company IDI Gazeley for €8 million, which, by virtue of the contract, is going to lease the logistics centre to the French subsidiary of the Spanish company.

All of these operations form part of the Strategic Plan for 2017-2029 designed by the group, which seeks to transform the company into “a service platform with logistics solutions adapted to the new reality of the business”, according to the company.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Unibail-Rodamco Puts 4 Shopping Centres Up For Sale

14 March 2018 – Eje Prime

Unibail-Rodamco is getting rid of a package of assets that are non-strategic for the group. The French giant has put the following complexes up for sale: Los Arcos, in Sevilla; Bahía Sur, in Cádiz; Vallsur, in Valladolid, and El Faro, in Badajoz, on the basis that they do not fulfil the group’s needs in the Spanish market, according to sources close to the company speaking to Eje Prime.

According to the same sources, “the assets that the group wants to divest are profitable, but due to their location, size and strategy, the firm has decided to get rid of them”. Unibail-Rodamco has entrusted the sale of these four assets to the real estate consultancy firm Cushman&Wakefield.

Sector sources say that, initially, the Equinocio shopping centre in Madrid was also going to be put on the market alongside the other four assets, however, Unibail-Rodamco must have changed its mind at the last moment. The price that Unibail-Rodamco has set for each asset is unknown.

The sale of these four assets forms part of the operation that the firm carried out last year with Barnasud, the complex acquired by Meridia Capital, a Catalan fund owned by the businessman Javier Faus, which paid Unibail-Rodamco €35 million for the asset.

In recent years, the French group has spent a significant amount on the renovation of some of its shopping centres in Spain. The most ambitious project was the Glòries shopping centre, where the company invested €150 million on its complete transformation. In total, the transformation added 12,500 m2 of public space, spread over 8,500 m2 of new streets, 2,500 m2 of urbanisation and pavements around the site and 1,500 m2 of new green space in the 22@ neighbourhood.

Whilst Unibail-Rodamco waits to receive the green light for the expansion of one of its main shopping centres in Spain, La Maquinista, the group’s portfolio in Spain comprises 12 shopping centres, with Barcelona and Madrid as the cities that are home to the most complexes. Whilst in the Catalan capital, the company operates La Maquinista, Glòries and Splau, in Madrid it manages La Vaguada, Equinoccio and Parquesur shopping centres.

In the rest of the country, Unibail-Rodamco has one complex in Valencia, Bonaire; one in Cádiz, Bahía Sur; one in Sevilla, Los Arcos; Vallsur, in Valladolid; El Faro, in Badajoz, and one in San Sebastián, which operates under the name Garbera.

Currently, the group led by Christophe Cuvillier has a portfolio in Spain worth €3.6 billion, which receives 126.2 million visitors per year. These assets represent 10% of the firm’s global portfolio.

Double-digit growth in Spain

The company ended last year in the Spanish market with a net profit of €161 million, up by 10.3% compared to 2016, when the group earned €146 million.

In this way, Spain has become one of the highest growth countries for Unibail-Rodamco. In all of the markets in which it operates, the French company recorded a net profit of €1.35 billion in 2017, up by 5.8% compared to the previous year, when its earnings amounted to €1.27 billion (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake