Azora Acquires HQ of the Former Cortefiel Group for €28.3M

24 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Another operation has been closed in the office market in Madrid. The Socimi GMP, controlled by the Montoro family and the sovereign fund of Singapore, has sold the building located at number 51 Calle Llano Castellano to Azora. The price of the operation amounted to €28.3 million.

The property now controlled by Azora, the real estate manager founded by Concha Osácar and Fernando Gumuzio, is occupied in its entirety by Tendam, previously known as the Cortefiel Group and owner of the fashion chains Cortefiel, Women’secret, Springfield and Pedro del Hierro.

The rental contract for the building, which has a gross leasable area of 23,108 m2 and 145 parking spaces, is due to expire in 2023.

The building was constructed in 1990 and had been controlled 100% by GMP since 2015. Until then, the property was in the hands of the real estate division of General Electric through the company Renta Gestión Fuencarral.

Its new owner, Azora, specialises in the investment and management of real estate assets for third parties and has a portfolio comprising more than €4.5 billion in assets. The company was the promoter of Hispania, the first Socimi to be constituted, which made its debut on the stock market in Spain in 2014.

Azora was considering its own stock market debut, but in the end, it suspended that process last year. Azora and Hispania ended their agreement last year, after Blackstone’s successful takeover of the Socimi.

Since then, the company has focused on the residential rental market through the creation of a joint venture with CBRE Global Investment and Madison to reach a portfolio of 10,000 homes over the coming years.

Azora manages the real estate portfolios of funds and wealthy investors, such as George Soros, CBRE Global Investors, Goldman Sachs, Axa Investment Management and Bank of Montreal, amongst others (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by P. Riaño and I. P. Gestal)

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

German Fund Deka Puts Ballonti Shopping Centre (Vizcaya) Up For Sale

26 February 2018 – Expansión

Deka wants to make some cash and has hung the “for sale” sign up over the Ballonti shopping centre, located in the municipality of Portugalete (Vizcaya). The German fund, which acquired the asset in 2010, at the height of the economic crisis, has decided now, eight years later, to put it up for sale and has engaged the consultancy firm CBRE to manage the process, according to reports from market sources speaking to Expansión.

The German group purchased the shopping centre from Eroski for €116 million and the current valuation could reach €150 million, in such a way that Deka could obtain significant capital gains from the sale.

In any case, sources in the sector consider that the timing of the operation will depend on the evolution of the sales process involving a portfolio of three shopping centres by Sonae and CBRE Global Investors, which is expected to come onto the market within the next few days. That portfolio of assets, which includes the Gran Casa shopping centre (Zaragoza), the Valle Real shopping centre (Cantabria) and the Max Center (Barakaldo), may be sold for around €500 million.

Ballonti, inaugurated in 2008, has a surface area of more than 50,000 m2 spread over two floors, and its tenants include Primark, H&M, Springfield, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Lefties and Women’s Secret. Moreover, the shopping centre is home to a large Eroski hypermarket spanning a surface area of more than 13,000 m2.

The retail space includes an upper floor dedicated to leisure with a cinema, an adventure park, a gym and a restaurant area with brands such as Burger King, Foster’s Hollywood, 100 Montaditos, Krunch, Mr Wok, Café and Bodega Ballonti.

Investor appetite

After the significant investment drive in shopping centres last year, which ended with a transaction volume of around €2.7 billion, thanks to record operations such as the purchase of Xanadú, in Arroyomolinos (Madrid) for €530 million, investor appetite is expected to be maintained this year.

According to data from the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks (AECC), last year, 29 transactions were closed involving 36 assets for €2.7 billion, which represents growth of 35% with respect to the previous year.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meridia Buys Barnasud Shopping Centre For €35M

9 November 2017 – Expansión 

Meridia Capital has purchased the Barnasud shopping centre, located in Gavà, 20km from Barcelona. The operation, which was signed yesterday, was completed for a consideration of €35 million.

The complex was previously owned by Unibail Rodamco, which is continuing with its strategy to divest its least strategic assets, by location and volume, to focus on its largest properties, which represent the main business of the European shopping centre giant.

The French-Dutch group continues to own three other first-rate shopping centres in Barcelona – La Maquinista, Splau and Glòries– and fifteen shopping centres across the whole of Spain. Unibail has been advised by Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, Meridia manages assets with a combined value of almost €1,000 million and has consolidated its presence in the country over the last three years.

Barnasud was inaugurated in 1995 and houses 43 stores, 13 restaurants and a seven-screen cinema. Its fashion establishments include Mango, Macson and Springfield. None of the brands from the Inditex group has a presence in the centre. The restaurant area includes operators such as McDonald’s, Burger King and Hollywood, and the multi-screen cinema is operated by Cinesa.

The President of Meridia Capital, Javier Faus, revealed that the company was on the verge of closing a purchase in the retail sector on Tuesday at the Economy Circle, as proof that the fund still has faith in the Catalan market. Faus, which will have to start to divest the assets held by one of Meridia’s funds in 2018, said that “the task of educating institutional investors is very important”. In his opinion, “the current situation in Cataluña is reversible and everything will improve if the right decisions are made”.

Original story: Expansión (by M. Anglés and R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Eurofund Capital & Patron Acquire 3 Shopping Centres

6 April 2017 – Inmodiario

The European investment funds Eurofund Capital Partners and Patron Capital have strengthened their presence and operations in Spain with the acquisition of three shopping centres: El Mirador, located in Cuenca; Los Alcores, in the town of Alcalá de Guadaira (close to Sevilla); and Alzamora, in Alcoy (Alicante).

Over the next few months, it will invest approximately €13 million in these centres to renew their retail offering, as well as to incorporate new domestic and international firms in the sector, and to increase the leisure and restaurant offer.

El Mirador de Cuenca is one of the iconic shopping centres in Castilla La Mancha and has no competitors in Cuenca. Inaugurated in 2002, it has a gross leasable area of 16,400 m2 and is home to more than 60 stores, including several high profile brands such as H&M, Cortefiel and Carrefour.

Los Alcores forms part of the Parque Guadaira retail area, next to the town of Alcalá de Guadaira. With a gross leasable area of 12,400 m2, its tenants include firms such as H&M, Lefties, Bershka and Stradivarius (…).

Meanwhile, the Alzamora shopping centre is also the main operator in the Alcoy area. It has a gross leasable area of 16,000 m2 and houses a wide range of retail (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Springfield) and leisure firms (cinemas, gym).

This is the second joint operation by Eurofund Capital Partners and Patron Capital in Spain, following their acquisition in July 2015 of the Dolce Vita Odeón shopping centre in Narón, near Ferrol, where it is carrying out a complete refurbishment both inside and outside the property, which, including the improvements made over the last two years, amount to €10 million (…).

Patron Capital and Eurofund

Patron Capital is an institutional investor specialising in real estate assets. It currently manages assets worth more than €5,000 million belonging to sovereign funds, universities, pension funds, private foundations and individual investors from the USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Patron is headquartered in London and manages its investments in Spain from its offices in Barcelona. (…).

Meanwhile, the Eurofund Group has developed the shopping resort concept in Spain, which has had enormous success in Puerto Venecia (Zaragoza), winning the MAPIC prize in 2013 for the best shopping and leisure centre in the world. (…).

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cortefiel’s Founder Lists Its Socimi Inmofam 99 On The MAB

21 December 2016 – Expansión

The Hinojosa family has listed its real estate Socimi Inmofam 99 on the stock market. The company primarily owns retail premises worth around €48 million.

Another Socimi will debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) today (21 December) – Inmofan 99 will be the twenty-sixth Socimi to join the market and will do so with a portfolio worth €48.05 million.

Although the name of the company may not be well known, one of the most representative families in the Spanish fashion world is behind this Socimi: the Hinojosa family. The founders of the Cortefiel group, which owns the brand of the same name, as well as Springfield, Women’s Secret, Pedro del Hierro and Fifty Factory, have decided to convert their real estate company into a Socimi and whereby benefit from the tax advantages afforded by this type of investment vehicle.

Founded as a limited company in June 1999, Inmofam has focused its activity on managing the real estate assets of the Hinojosa family. In September 2015, the company converted itself into a Socimi and 14 months later it is debuting on the stock market with a market capitalisation of €38.83 million.

Diversified portfolio

Inmofam 99’s portfolio comprises a batch of stores that the Hinojosa family held onto after selling the Cortefiel textile group to the funds CVC, PAI and Permira in 2005. The nine assets are leased to the textile group that they founded: six of them are Cortefiel stores, two are Springfield stores and one is a Women’s Secret shop. The stores are located in Madrid, La Coruña, Oviedo, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Málaga, Valencia, Zaragoza and two in Valladolid.

In December 2004, the company bought its real estate jewel, a 2,620 m2 store located on Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, which is one of the most iconic stores of the Cortefiel brand in Madrid.

The Hinojosa and García-Quirós families (which have been related for years) receive rental income of more than €883,000 for this store. Nevertheless, Cortefield has notified the Socimi of its decision to terminate the rental contract from 31 December, which has led Inmofam to update its value for this property to €11.75 million.

The other eight retail premises are worth between €2 million and €7.1 million. The former relates to a store on Calle Zorrila in Valladolid, which Cortefiel will also vacate at the end of the year, which has been taken into account in its valuation. Moreover, it owns several floors, for residential and office use, in Oviedo.

In 2005, the Hinojosa and García Quirós families sold the Cortefield textile group to the funds CVC, Permira and PAI for €1,440 million. Currently, Joaquín García-Quirós Rodríguez chairs Inmofam and Juan Hinojosa Vacas, Almudena Hinojosa Bermejo, Gonzalo Hinojosa Fernández-Angulo and Dario Hinojosa García-Puente complete the Socimi’s Board of Directors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake