Tag: Spanish market

Grosvenor Will Invest €200M to Double its Portfolio in Spain by 2022

25 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The British group Grosvenor is taking advantage of the strong performance of the real estate sector in Spain. The company, which has just presented its financial results for 2017, revealing a record profit of GBP 143.5 million (€163.8 million), has revised its plans for Spain. It is now going to spend more than €200 million on purchases, together with the Malaysian group Amprop, with which it owns a joint venture in the country. The group aims to double its portfolio of assets between now and 2022, according to James Raynor (pictured below), CEO of Grosvenor, speaking to Eje Prime.

“In 2017, we increased our potential in the residential sector, specifically in Madrid, where we undertook six acquisitions for development”, explained Raynor. “Our intention is to transform under-utilised assets into properties that contribute to the growth and dynamisation of the neighbourhoods in which they are located, and we have faith that our first projects in the districts of Salamanca and Chamberí will do just that”, he added.

Grosvenor’s most ambitious plans in Spain include its new purchases. The group, which now employs eight people in the country after it opened an office in Madrid, has increased its investment capacity to €200 million through its joint venture together with Amprop, created last year to build luxury homes in Madrid. “We will also evaluate investments outside of the joint venture”, added the director.

The alliance with Amprop set itself the objective of backing value-added investments, where it assumes high risks but also assigns them high profitability. For these types of projects, the two groups have allocated a budget of €70 million, although they have reviewed the numbers thanks to the “opportunities being offered by the Spanish market”, explained the executive.

Grosvenor evaluates its last year in Spain as “a good year”. (…). “Having expanded our team, we have more power to unlock opportunities that would have been impossible without the experience of professionals in the sector. We have also been making progress with projects such as the one we have underway at number 53 Jorge Juan”, explained Raynor.

Over the coming months, the British group is going to continue “to look for investment opportunities in the main neighbourhoods of Madrid”. “We think that this is the perfect time to invest in residential developments in Spain and in repositioning opportunities, although we are also open to the acquisition of mixed-use assets, as well as retail properties and offices”, says Raynor -; “As an investment company, we have a diverse portfolio and extensive experience in all of the real estate sectors, and so we will take advantage of that know-how to find the most appropriate opportunities to suit us (…).

The fund has been led in the Spanish market by Fátima Sáez del Cano since 2007, although its operations in the country date back to 1996. The director leads the fund specialising in the office and commercial sectors, which is also responsible for the management of the funds and assets. Some of the properties under Grosvenor’s management in Spain include the Islazul shopping centre in Madrid and the Anecblau complex in Barcelona (…).

In addition, in recent months, Grosvenor decided to add new blood to its management team by hiring more directors. In September, the group recruited Javier García as the new Technical Director for the Spanish market. The director is responsible for the technical management of operations in Spain, from the control of the design to the monitoring of project costs and deadlines (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grosvenor Injects Another €15M into its Luxury Home JV with Amprop

29 January 2018 – Eje Prime

Grosvenor is still interested in growing in the Spanish market, hand in hand with its local partner. The British company has injected another €15 million into its Spanish joint venture with the Malayan firm Amcorp Properties Berhad (Amprop), created last year to build luxury apartments in Madrid. Both groups have financial muscle amounting to more than €200 million, which they plan to invest in the construction of new developments in the country.

In this way, Grosvenor and Amprop are continuing with the plans they started last year when they completed the purchase of an 820 m2 plot on Madrid’s golden mile on which to build a luxury residential development. That plot is located on Calle Jorge Juan, one of the most expensive areas to live in the Spanish capital.

The British fund, owner of more than 1,500 properties spread all over the world, transformed its fund Grosvenor Fund Management into Grosvenor Europe, with the aim of undertaking joint investments in key markets in Europe, including Paris, Madrid, Milan and Stockholm.

The alliance signed with Amcorp set itself the objective of backing value-added investments, where it assumes more risk but also receives greater returns. For these types of projects, the two groups have allocated a budget of €70 million.

Seven months after creating this alliance, the partners have closed their first investment, for an undisclosed sum. In this plot, Grosvenor and its partner will construct an exclusive development comprising six apartments and a penthouse with views over the Retiro park.

Grosvenor has not yet determined the price at which it will place these properties on the market although the average price per square metre for prime real estate in the Salamanca neighbourhood amounts to around €8,500. Although, according to the most recent residential reports, some developments are going for more than €9,000.

The purchase of these plots followed the acquisition of two buildings in Madrid in July, which it will transform into new residential and retail spaces (…).

Grosvenor in Spain

In the Spanish market, the fund has been led by Fátima Sáez del Cano since 2007, although it started to operate in the country in 1996. The director manages the fund that specialises in the office business and retail sector, which is also responsible for the management of funds and assets. Some of the properties under Grosvenor’s management in Spain include the Islazul shopping centre in Madrid and the Anecblau complex in Barcelona (…).

Moreover, in recent months, Grosvenor has decided to add new lifeblood into its leadership team with the hiring of new directors. Last September, the group recruited Javier García as the new Technical Director for the Spanish market (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

KKR & Altamar Join Forces With Elix To Buy Residential Properties

21 July 2017 – Expansión

KKR and Altamar Capital Partners have formed an alliance to invest in the Spanish market where it wants to acquire, renovate and rent out residential buildings. The two funds have joined one of the property developers with the longest history in this sector, Elix, to launch a Socimi that will invest more than €200 million in the purchase of properties in Barcelona and Madrid.

According to sources in the know, yesterday (Thursday) the Socimi Elix Vintage Residencial was constituted, an investment vehicle that is expected to debut on the stock market once it has undertaken the bulk of its investments. This company, which is headquartered in Barcelona, has been created with a share capital of €100 million, most of which has been contributed by KKR and a group of international and domestic investors, including Altamar and Deutsche Finance Group. The other shares are held by Jaime Lacasa (pictured above, right) and Jorge Benjumeda (pictured above, left), founders of Elix.

This capital contribution could be more than doubled when debt is added to the mix. The idea is to buy around 40 buildings in three years, subject them to a comprehensive refurbishment and put them on the rental housing market once the renovation work is complete. The corresponding rental income will feed the Socimi, which plans to rotate its portfolio of assets every three years.

Although Elix Vintage Residencial may debut on the MAB initially, its aspiration is to debut on the main stock market.

Elix will be the company responsible for converting the properties, which is why it has been named as the industrial partner. With this vehicle, the company will be able to successfully scale its business model, which until now had been very concentrated within the El Eixample district of Barcelona. The company, founded in 2003, has managed to convert its brand into a reference in the renovation market in the Catalan capital and last year, it launched activity in Madrid.

“For Elix, this operation represents an important milestone in our development due to the cooperation with some renowned internationally prestigious investors”, explained Lacasa and Benjumeda yesterday. According to the businessmen, the Socimi “will support the growth and institutionalisation process” of the company.

Guillaume Cassou, Head of the Real Estate area at KKR in Europe, has been appointed President of the Socimi. “We are delighted with this new investment in Spain, in a sector that we consider has significant potential and in conjunction with partners with the standing of Altamar and Elix”, said Cassou.

Advice

Altamar Capital Partners, the Spanish independent financial services group chaired by Claudio Aguirre, will be represented by Fernando Olaso, Head of Altamar Real Estate.

The constitution of Elix Vintage Residencial has been advised by Freshfields, RCD, BDO Abogados and CBRE. The investment vehicle will be managed by Elix SCM Partners, a company chaired by Mercedes Grau – formerly a director at Banca March and partner at MdF Family Partners – and will be advised by Lacasa, Benjumeda and the lawyer Adolf Rousaud.

Original story: Expansión (by Sergi Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Stoneweg Will Invest €750M+ In RE Assets In Spain

26 April 2017 – El Mundo

Stoneweg, the real estate platform created in Switzerland by Jaume Sabater and Joaquín Castellví – specialists in Real Estate following their time at the bank Edmond de Rothschild – has announced the opening of its first two offices in Spain, in Barcelona and Madrid.

In this way, Stoneweg is consolidating its position in the Spanish market, where it has been investing in numerous and diverse real estate developments since 2015. The company has also announced that, over the next few years, it will allocate more than €750 million to investments in Spain, of which €450 million has already been committed to various projects. Specifically, the developments that Stoneweg is already constructing, managing and marketing in Spain – which are due to be delivered between 2017 and 2020 – are located in the urban nuclei of Madrid and Barcelona, the metropolitan rings of both cities and the Mediterranean Coast (Costa Brava, Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol).

In total, the manager is working on more than 1,300 homes across 30 developments, on residential land spanning 200,000 m2 and retail premises, as well as three developments measuring more than 22,000 m2 above ground in several office buildings. The platform has created this sizeable investment portfolio by purchasing properties from the banks, Sareb and private owners.

“We place our trust in Spain due to its power for constant economic growth and its high capacity to attract tourists in search of a second home, as well as for the strengthening of mortgages and the rapid access to them”, explained Joaquín Castellví, Director of Acquisitions at Stoneweg and CEO of Stoneweg Spain. (…).

The manager has signed agreements with some of the main financial entities (Banco Santander, BBVA, La Caixa, Banco Sabadell, Abanca) and strategic partners (Grupo Sorigue, Ferrocarril, Grupo Castellví) with the aim of constituting one of the most robust real estate groups in Europe.

In addition to Spain and Switzerland, the manager led by Sabater and Castellví also has a presence in Italy and the USA, and has an investment capacity of more than €1,400 million in real estate assets across all of its markets (50% of which will be invested in Spain). (…).

Stoneweg’s new offices in Spain, located on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, one of the capital’s main thoroughfares, and on Calle Mestre Nicolau, in the heart of Barcelona’s financial district, will employ personnel with an average age of around 32 years old, which means that Stoneweg will be the real estate manager with one of the youngest workforces in the country.

Next month, the platform will participate in Sima (Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid) for the first time, with the aim of promoting, amongst others, the projects that it already has underway in the Spanish capital, especially the developments at the Fresno Norte urbanisation, and on Calles Alfonso X and Mateo Inurria, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017 and/or the beginning of 2018.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Leading RE Experts Warn About The Lack Of Credit

21 October 2016 – Expansión

The difficulties involved in accessing bank financing for certain real estate projects are weighing down on the development of the sector. Experts from leading companies in the market, such as BNP Paribas and Axa, have criticised the banks’ excessive zeal when it comes to lending in a discussion about opportunities in Spain at the Barcelona Meeting Point (BMP) real estate fair.

An Economist from the Real Estate division at BNP Paribas, Ramiro J. Rodríguez, said that financial institutions are continuing with standards that they imposed during the economic crisis. “The limitations are so high that business opportunities are being missed”, said the expert.

His market diagnosis was shared by the Director of Acquisitions and Development at Axa, Esther Escapa-Castro, who said that “the banks are not prepared and for that reason they are missing out on major operations”. On the other hand, the expert warned that the economic recovery has not happened at the same speed as the upturn in the (real estate) market, and so she warned of future problems in terms of profitability.

The CEO of Neinor Homes, Juan Velayos, was more forceful in his statement. “The banks are still very exposed to the real estate sector and they remain cautious, but they must start opening up the financing tap because, at the end of the day, that is bread and butter of their business”, he said.

The discussion between the experts revealed that Spain is still an attractive market for investment for the sector, although the number of opportunities has decreased. “Over the last year, it has become more difficult to find attractive operations, whilst deals in other countries have become more interesting, such as in Italy for example”, said the Director of Benson Elliot Capital Management, Gregg Gilbert. The Director explained that, in the case of his company, it sees its future primarily in the hotel market, in key locations such as Barcelona, Madrid and the Balearic Islands.

Meanwhile, the Partner Director of Valid Real Estate Strategies, Christopher Hütwwohl, said that the Spanish market is still competitive compared with other European countries. “We are concerned about the political situation, but we trust that it will be resolved quickly”, said the executive.

Original story: Expansión (by Gabriel Trindade)

Translation: Carmel Drake

German Fund ‘Freo’ Plans To Invest €120M In Spain

3 November 2015 – Expansión

The German fund, Freo Group, plans to invest €120 million in the Spanish real estate market over the next year. To this end, it has opened a subsidiary in Spain, headquartered in Barcelona, and today, it will open an office in Madrid.

Freo Group is a private capital fund manager that also has its own investment vehicle. Founded in Frankfurt twenty years ago, the group has offices in Europe’s major cities and is currently expanding its operations into the USA. The group focuses on the investment, development and management of real estate assets.

The change in the cycle in Spain’s economy has encouraged the group to invest here now and it has hired Daniel Mayans (pictured above, right), the former Asset Management Director at GE Capital Real Estate in Spain, as the CEO of the Spanish subsidiary.

The management team of the Spanish subsidiary will focus on buying office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona, although they do not rule out the acquisition of shops and other retail premises. “Between 40% and 60% of our purchases will be financed through bank debt”, said Daniel Mayans. The period between the purchase and subsequent sale of these assets will be between five and six years.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aura REE Advises Sankaty On Purchase Of €560M Portfolio From Bankia

7 May 2015 – Sankaty Press Release

Sankaty Advisors, LLC, the independently managed credit affiliate of Bain Capital, announced yesterday that it has acquired a portfolio of secured loans from BFA-Bankia Group, through a controlled affiliate.

Aura REE provided real estate valuation advice on the transaction; J&A Garrigues acted as legal advisor; and Copernicus, a Spanish financial services company, assisted Sankaty with the transaction due diligence and will also act as the servicer for the portfolio post-acquisition.

The portfolio—which has a par value of €560 million—is made up of defaulted bilateral and syndicated Spanish real estate developer and SME loans, secured primarily on various real estate collateral. This is Sankaty’s second loan portfolio transaction with Bankia in the last 12 months, which further develops its experience and understanding of the Spanish market.

“We are excited to be making this investment in Spain, our second acquisition in the market in the last 6 months. This transaction further enhances our track record of investing in complex and idiosyncratic portfolios across Europe, where we have the ability to leverage our experience while remaining flexible to maximize value for our investors,” said Alon Avner, a Managing Director and Head of Sankaty’s European business, which has bought €2.7 billion in loan portfolios from European banks over the last three years.

Original story: Sankaty Press Release

Edited by: Carmel Drake