Tag: Torre Suecia

Värde Invests €50M In Barcelona Despite Tension Over Independence

24 October 2017 – El Confidencial

One of the largest real estate investment funds in the Värde Partner group has purchased 52,000 m2 of space for offices in Barcelona. It has closed the operation this week, less than a month after the referendum that was held on 1 October. The real estate sector has been surprised that buyers have not scaled back their efforts during such a controversial week from a political point of view. Värde is spending more than €50 million on this purchase, according to sources in the real estate sector.

It is one of the largest commitments to Barcelona in the real estate market in recent times, not least because it is associated with a development project that will require a further investment of €70 million. Moreover, the new space will then have to be leased to tenants. If Barcelona has a future, Värde believes in it, beyond the political problems.

The operation has involved an auction for the assets, carried out by CB Richard Ellis, which has gone on for months. The key name for these assets was “Project Helix”. And bidders have been competing to buy land, with a surface area of almost 13,000 m2 in the Poblenou neighbourhood, in the business district known as 22@.

Värde is already developing other projects in Barcelona, given that it purchased Vía Célere and since that property developer already had housing projects in several parts of the Catalan capital, such as La Magoria –Gran Vía– and on Calle Aragón.

Värde Partners is a US fund that has acquired some significant positions in Spain in recent years. Its speciality is not only real estate and it moves assets under management amounting to more than $10,000 million.

In Spain, the firm’s activity is not limited to Cataluña, by any means; it has a strong presence right across Spain. In 2018, it plans to list Vía Célere on the stock market, once it has merged it with the real estate company DosPuntos.

Sources in the sector did not expect Operation Helix to be signed, after the events of 1 October and the political uncertainty surrounding the sovereign tension. Much smaller transactions have failed to cross the final hurdle for much less significant reasons. But to everyone’s surprise, failure was not an option this time and the Catalan families that owned the land took home their juicy cheques.

Very diversified in Spain

In addition to its assets in Barcelona, Värde Partners controls the Socimi La Finca Global Assets, which comprises the non-residential assets from the García Cereceda family worth €260 million. It also owns a complex on Calle Marcelo Spínola in Madrid, as well as Torre Suecia in Méndez Álvaro and several buildings in the centre of the capital.

In Barcelona, assets are much more scarce and so many real estate companies are entering the property development market, which has driven up the price of land, due to the scarcity caused by the lack of urban planning by the mayor Ada Colau. In this context, having land ready to build on its very valuable in the Catalan capital.

Project Helix may be even more valuable if an urban planning amendment that has been submitted is approved. That would allow Värde to allocate some of the buildable roof surface area (m2) to homes, in light of the current shortage of new homes in Barcelona.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Marcos Lamelas)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Procisa To List La Finca Business Park As A Socimi

12 May 2016 – Cinco Días

The real estate company Procisa is finalising a major corporate restructuring process, which will culminate in the IPO of its office business. The company, renowned for having constructed the luxury La Finca urbanisation in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) will separate its activity into two companies. The residential development business will be called La Finca Procisa and the RE asset business will be called La Finca Global Assets.

The new RE asset (offiec) company will be converted into a listed Socimi, according to sources familiar with the operation. These types of companies have the advantage of being exempt from corporation tax, in exchange for having the obligation to distribute dividends every year. Like all Socimis, La Finca Global Assets will have a period of two years to debut on the stock market.

From the beginning, the Socimi will benefit from having Värde Partners as one of its shareholders – the US fund is currently finalising the acquisition of a 40% stake in the real estate company. The fund, created in Minnesota (USA) in 1993 has been very active in the Spanish market in recent years. (…). The consideration to be paid by Värde in this operation has not been revealed, but the deal is expected to close within the next few days.

The company, founded by the late Luis García Cerceda, is now being led by the second generation – Susana García Cereceda is the Chairman, and it controls the property developer through the holding company Michigan 42. The real estate company recorded revenues of €83.8 million in 2014, the most recent figures available in the registry, and losses of €19 million, along with long-term debt of €511 million.

The new Socimi’s main asset is the La Finca business park in Pozuelo, constructed alongside the luxury residential urbanisation where several footballers live, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Fernando Torres. The complex comprises 20 buildings, including 16 offices.

Tenants include companies such as Microsoft, Orange and Accenture. The Hotel AC La Finca is also located there. It is one of the most sought-after business parks in Madrid, given that it has just 0.3% of free space, according to market sources (…).

The future Socimi Finca Global Assets will manage a surface area of offices covering 227,000 sqm. As well as the complex in Pozuelo, the company also owns other office buildings, which will be included in the operation. These include the Marcelo Spínola business centre, constructed in 1991, comprising seven buildings.

In the Méndez Álvaro area, the company owns the Torre Suecia, which is currently leased to the technology firm Ericsson. Close to the A-2, it manages the Martínez Villergas business centre, which houses, for example, Warner’s headquarters in Spain. Moreover, it owns other office buildings on the sought-after streets of Serrano and Almagro.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake