Madrid’s Partido Popular Opens Door to Private Hospital in Torrejón de Ardoz

16 August 2019

A second hospital will be built in Torrejón de Ardoz, a 130,000-inhabitant satellite city of Madrid, after the city’s government, currently dominated by the Partido Popular (PP), approved a proposal by Quirónsalud. The council has offered to rent a 16,000-square-meter plot of land to the firm for 625,000 euros per year, for a sixty year period.

The new private hospital will be placed across a roundabout from an existing public hospital, which is managed by a rival firm, Ribera Salud. Quirónsalud had initially planned on building the centre on a private plot of land in Alcalá de Henares.

The regional and municipal governments, both controlled by the PP, had to implement ad hoc changes in zoning regulations that, in the end, convinced the company to modify its project and move it to Torrejón de Ardoz.

Original Story: El Diário – Sofía Pérez Mendoza

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Iberian Capital & AEW Logistics Invest €150M in Torrejón de Ardoz

14 February 2019 – Eje Prime

E-commerce needs logistics and Torrejón de Ardoz is getting ready to host a new platform. The property developer Iberian Capital Corporation (ICC) and the US investment fund AEW Logistics are going to invest €150 million over the next four years in the development of a logistics park in the new Los Almendros Industrial Estate in Madrid.

The new platform will have a surface area of 37,818 m2 and will be available from the second quarter of 2020, according to Iberian Capital. The logistics park will be able to accommodate up to eight tenants, will have a free storage height of twelve square metres and 38 loading docks.

The location of the new platform is one of its main strengths, according to its promoters. Located in the Henares industrial and business corridor, the complex will be 13 kilometres from Madrid Barajas Airport and 21 kilometres from the centre of Madrid (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Roger Arnau)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas Expands into Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) with 100 New Homes

2 July 2018 – Eje Prime

Aedas Homes is extending its tentacles in Madrid and has reached Torrejón de Ardoz with its first residential project. The listed property developer is going to develop 100 homes in that municipality, which will constitute the Lángara urbanisation.

The homes, which include ground floor garden flats and penthouses with two, three and four bedrooms, have already gone on the market with prices starting at €165,000. The promotion will have a garden, a swimming pool, a gym, a children’s play area and a lounge bar in the common areas.

Lángara is designed for both first-time buyers and those looking to reposition themselves on the property ladder, according to Aedas. With more than 1.5 million m2 of buildable land in its portfolio, the property developer still has space to develop around 14,000 homes in Madrid, Cataluña, Sevilla, Costa del Sol, Levante and the Balearic Islands.

The plans of Aedas, in which the US fund Castlelake holds a stake, include reaching a handover rate that exceeds the number of homes under construction by 2022. The company led by David Martínez wants to achieve the break-even point after launching more than 2,000 homes this year: 2,500 in 2019 and peaking with 3,000 homes in 2020 and 2021.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Redevco & Ares Purchase 70% of Parque Corredor Shopping Centre

2 February 2018 – Expansión

Yesterday, after more than a year and a half of negotiations, Redevco Iberian Ventures – the joint venture formed by Redevco and Ares – closed the purchase of 70% of Parque Corredor (located in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid) for €140 million. The new owners are preparing to give the asset a makeover, with an additional investment of €40 million, which will be used primarily to renovate the asset. Until now, Parque Corredor had a very fragmented ownership structure (…) and although the asset has an occupancy rate of 95% and receives more than 10 million visitors per year, investment is required for its repositioning.

With the completion of this operation, which has been advised by Deloitte, Cushman & Wakefield and Simmons & Simmons, Redevco Iberian Ventures has acquired the 40% stake held by Sareb – the largest shareholder until now -; the 14.5% stake held by Aermont (previously Perella Winberg); the 3.6% stake held by El Corte Inglés; and the 3% stake held by Bowling, as well as almost 10% held by smaller shareholders. On the other hand, Alcampo will retain its 24% stake in Parque Corredor, as will the Town Hall of Torrejón de Ardoz, which owns a municipal court there, and Toys R’ Us.

Parque Corredor is the third largest shopping centre in the Community of Madrid, behind Xanadú and Parquesur, and one of the largest in Spain, with a surface area of 123,000 m2 and 3,800 parking spaces. In the past, the centre was controlled by CatalunyaCaixa, which foreclosed a loan that had been granted to Testa. That stake was subsequently passed onto Sareb.

The new owners plan to reposition the shopping centre, which opened its doors in 1996. Redevco and Ares plan to spend €40 million on the complete renovation of the asset, which will be undertaken in stages and will not result in the temporary closure of the shopping centre. The remodelling plan, approved in July last year by the community of owners of the centre, is supported by the tenants.

Renovation

The proposed renovation will involve increasing the size of the stores so that some of its main tenants can open flagship stores there and making the leisure area more attractive to increase the number of visitors. The renovation work may take between 12 and 18 months. Parque Corredor is home to 180 establishments, an Alcampo supermarket measuring 24,000 m2 and nine cinema screens managed by Cinesa. Currently, the fashion and accessories section accounts for 24% of the shopping centre, with tenants such as Primark, H&M, El Corte Inglés, Sfera and Mango, amongst other brands. Next comes the Alcampo hypermarket (24%), the restaurant area (14%), leisure (10%), services (9%) and food, perfume and cosmetics (9%).

Competition

Inside Parque Corredor’s area of influence, the French firm Compañía de Phalsbourg plans to open the Open Sky shopping centre, measuring 85,000 m2. The construction work on that centre started in October last year.

Redevco Iberian Ventures, created in September 2015, acquired the Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid last summer for €70 million. In addition, last year, the joint venture company sold a portfolio of nine shopping centres to Vukile Property Fund, a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Market (South Africa) through its Socimi Castellana Property for €193 million.

The company owned by Redevco and Ares has funds amounting to €500 million allocated for identifying and acquiring assets.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells Parque Corredor Shopping Centre to Redevco & Ares

2 January 2018 – El Confidencial

In the end, there will be a sale. Sareb has managed to reach an agreement with Redevco and Ares to sell them the Parque Corredor shopping centre, in an operation that is expected to be closed within the next few days, according to sources familiar with the transaction. This deal will fire the starting gun for the complete transformation of the Madrilenian shopping centre.

As El Confidencial revealed, the entity chaired by Jaime Echegoyen had joined forces with Perella to complete one of the operations that has been on Sareb’s desk for the longest, but which has never ended up being signed (until now) for various reasons, including the dispersed shareholding of Parque Corredor and the divergent interests of those shareholders.

The sum of Sareb and Perella’s forces guaranteed that Redevco and Ares would take a majority stake in the shopping centre, given that the former holds 40% of the share capital and the latter holds 20%. But, more support was always needed to enable it to undertake a complete transformation and whereby compete with the neighbouring Open Sky, a shopping centre that is currently being constructed just four kilometres away.

In the end, both El Corte Inglés, the owner of just under 4% of Parque Corredor, which has an outlet store there, and Alcampo, owner of just over 20%, have decided to join the sale initiated by Sareb, according to the same sources (…).

The offer from Redevco and Ares values the whole centre at around €200 million, an amount that will be added to the planned investment of €20 million required to renovate the centre. The renovation project that has been entrusted to the Chapman Taylor studio.

Parque Corredor is a shopping centre giant with a retail surface area of 123,000 m2 and 180 stores, located in the Madrilenian town of Torrejón de Ardoz. Its tenants include the Spanish firm Mango, the Swedish retailer H&M, the Irish firm Primark and the French retailer Kiabi, all direct rivals of Zara.

This shopping centre went through its toughest time four years ago when Inditex decided to vacate because of the poor upkeep of the complex. Nevertheless, in recent times, confidence in the centre has been returning, with some of the retail group’s brands opening stores there, such as Bershka, Pimkie and Stradivarius. To date, there is no sign of the flagship brand Zara returning just yet.

Sareb has been advised in the operation by Knight Frank, Perella has received the services of Cushman & Wakefield, whilst Redevco and Ares have been working with Deloitte.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Compagnie Secures Financing for Spain’s Largest New Shopping Centre

28 November 2017 – Expansión

Yesterday, the French group Compagnie de Phalsbourg managed to close financing, amounting to €157 million, for its first shopping centre in Spain: the Open Sky centre in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), according to Expansión.

The establishment will have a gross leasable area of 85,000 m2, will house 100 stores, 3,500 parking spaces and a large garden area with a central lake.

To obtain the necessary resources for its project, Compagnie de Phalsbourg has resorted to non-bank financing through a competitive process. Sources close to the operation maintain that a single fund has subscribed 100% of the financing. According to the same sources, it is a fund based in the City of London, specialising in the real estate sector.

“This process is a boost for Spain because it shows that international investors, in this case, French and British players, see potential in Spain”, say financial sources. The crisis in Cataluña has not affected the process in this case, whose negotiations started long before the tension escalated in that regard.

The French group expects that Open Sky will be inaugurated by the end of next year. In fact, the first earth movement work has now begun and the land that Compagnie acquired for €110 million from the Town Hall of Torrejón in 2015 is being prepared (…).

The company has already signed agreements with around twenty fashion labels, accessories brands and service providers, including with many high-profile names such as Adidas, Reebok, Decimas, OVS, Okaidi, Merkal, Kiwoko, Orchestra, RKS, Celio, Encuentro Moda and Druni, amongst others. Moreover, the shopping centre will have 11 Cinesa cinema screens with capacity for 1,200 people and it has already signed agreements with restaurant groups such as the Vips group, with its five brands (Vips, Fridays, Ginos, Wagamama and Starbucks); the Zena group (Fosters and Cañas y Tapas) and the Restalia group (100 Montaditos and La Sureña).

Once Open Sky is fully operational, it is expected to generate approximately 1,000 new jobs in the region.

The Spanish investment boutique Alantra has served as the sole advisor to the operation for the French group. In addition, Alantra has advised the firm on three other projects in Spain. Meanwhile, Clifford Chance and Uría have been responsible for providing legal advice (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Andrés Stumpf)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Finalises Sale Of Parque Corredor To Redevco & Ares

6 April 2017 – El Confidencial

One of the most entangled real estate operations in recent times is about to see the light. Namely, the sale of the Parque Corredor shopping centre, a giant in the retail sector, with a surface area of 123,000 m2 and 180 stores, located in the Madrilenian town of Torrejón de Ardoz, which Sareb has been trying to sell for four years.

It is the commercial jewel in the crown of the entity chaired by Jaime Echegoyen. The bad bank is the main shareholder, with 40% of the share capital, which it inherited from Catalunya Caixa. But, until now, that stake had been insufficient to convince any buyer, given that it does not guarantee control over the centre. Nevertheless, Sareb has teamed up with Perella to sell their shares to Redevco and Area Group en bloc, a move that will allow the new owners to acquire almost 60% of the share capital. All of the parties have declined to make comments.

The operation has been on the cards for months and although it has not been completed yet, according to the sources consulted by El Confidencial, conversations are in an advanced stage and are likely to come to fruition. El Corte Inglés may play an important role in the outcome given that together with Alcampo, it owns another 25% of the centre’s share capital, and their stake could also end up forming part of the transaction.

Sareb is being advised in the operation by Knight Frank, Perella is being advised by Cushman & Wakefield, whilst Redevco and Ares are working with Deloitte.

Depending on the total percentage that ends up being acquired, the final amount of the operation could reach €120 million, whereby valuing the entire centre at around €200 million, an amount that would allow Parque Corredor to join the growing number of shopping centres whose sales have exceeded €100 million, such as Xanadú (€530 million), Diagonal Mar (€495 million), Puerto Venecia (€451 million), Plenilunio (€375 million), Gran Vía Vigo (€145 million), Nassica (€140 million) and L’Aljub and Alcalá Magna (both €100 million).

Shopping centre alliance

Redevco and Area Management decided to join forces a year and a half ago, when they created a joint venture, Redevco Iberian Ventures, endowed with €500 million of capital and with the aim of acquiring shopping centres in Spain and Portugal. The new company was constituted with six assets, contributed by the two shareholders, and the objective of closing several acquisitions. The first was completed last spring, when it purchased six shopping centres in Extremadura and Andalucia, with a combined surface area of 84,250 m2, from Bogaris for €95 million. (…).

With Parque Corredor, the joint venture is acquiring a great asset near to the Spanish capital, but it needs significant renovation work, and the associated investment is estimated to amount to around €15 million, according to real estate sources. (…).

The shopping centre receives 10 million visitors per year and its tenants include Primark, H&M, Kiabi, Alcampo, Toys “R” Us and Cinesa cinemas. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Cordish Intensifies Its Commitment To Its Mega Project In Madrid

21 March 2017 – Expansión

The implementation of a waste plant next to the site and a request for more information from the Community of Madrid have not deterred the US group Cordish in its plans to invest €2,000 million on the construction of the largest tourist and leisure complex in Europe.

Last December, Cordish, a US group with operations in the urban planning, health and leisure resorts business, unveiled its plans for a mega real estate project in Madrid, which includes 2,700 hotel rooms, 100,000 m2 of retail space, three conference centres, cinemas and a leisure space with casino.

With a view to its implementation, Cordish has signed agreements to buy land in the area (up to 134 hectares). (…).

In parallel, Cordish is working with the Community of Madrid on a process that will allow it to be awarded the contract to build this project. Although the idea came from the US group, given that it has constructed similar tourist complexes in several cities in the USA, the regional Government is obliged to put its construction out to public tender, even though, it is likely that only Cordish will submit a bid. (…).

Recycling plant

(…). Weeks after the plans were submitted, approval was given for the opening of a new waste treatment plant, measuring 507,000 m2, between the towns of Torrejón de Ardoz, Loeches and Torres de la Alameda, which is exactly where the macro-complex was going to be located.

Nevertheless, Cordish considers that its plans for Live! Resort Madrid are “completely compatible” with the new plant.

“This recycling plant will be equipped with the latest technology and will be located 2 km from the edge of the leisure complex and on the other side of the AVE train tracks. In fact, Cordish understands that this plant is going to be the solution to the historical problem facing the Community of Madrid in terms of waste management and considers that both projects can co-exist and will even be beneficial for each other”, explain sources at the company.

During its initial phase, Life! Resorts Madrid will invest around €500 million. This first phase will be focused around a central square, where a hotel will be built, a convention centre and “probably” the gaming area.

In total, Cordish expects to spend around €2,200 million in Madrid, although that figure could increase to €3,000 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Rockspring Buys Montepino Casablanca Logistics Park

17 March 2016 – Mis Naves

Inversiones Montepino and Rockspring have reached an agreement for the sale and purchase of the new Montepino Casablanca logistics park, in a deal advised by ProEquity.

On Friday 11 March 2016, the sale agreement was signed for the new logistics park located in the town of Torrejón de Ardoz. Construction of the site has just been completed. The transaction, advised by the consultancy ProEquity, involves the acquisition, by one of Rockspring’s funds, of a site with a total constructed surface are of almost 50,000m2.

The asset, constructed on a site measuring 85,000 m2 and spread across two buildings, measuring 27,000 m2 and 21,000 m2, respectively, has been built to the highest quality standards and has received the LEED Green Silver Certificate, which will have a major impact in areas such as energy consumption efficiency and improving the quality of the internal environment.

This deal involves the first development of its kind in Madrid since 2007 and forms part of Rockspring’s commitment to become one of the major players in the logistics real estate sector, alongside the launch of the new 60,000 m2 project in Puerta Mayor “Los Gavilanes” in Getafe, which has just been put on the market.

Original story: Mis Naves

Translation: Carmel Drake

Phalsbourg To Build Macro Shopping Centre In Torrejón

23 December 2015 – Expansión

The French group has purchased a plot of land measuring 138,000 m2 from the Town Hall of Torrejón, where it plans to develop a huge shopping centre.

The French group Compagnie de Phalsbourg, which specialises in the promotion and management of shopping centres, has chosen Spain for its first international adventure. The company, founded by Philippe Journo, has completed the purchase of a plot of land measuring 138,000 m2 in the Madrilenian suburb of Torrejón de Ardoz, where it plans to construct a huge shopping centre. “After more than 20 years of experience in France, we have decided to expand overseas. We have looked at opportunities all over the world, including in: China, Russia, Italy, Romania, etc. In the end, we have decided to invest in Spain because now is the right time here…”, explains Raphael Martin, the Director General of Compagnie de Phalsbourg.

The French group has been awarded this plot of land, which is located next to the Torrejón air base, through a public tender. It will pay €15.4 million (plus VAT) for the site. “We have just completed the land purchase and we want to begin construction at the beginning of April, so that the tenants can begin to move in during 2017 and then open their doors between April and May 2018”, says Martin.

The new shopping centre, called Open Sky, will have a retail surface area of 65,000 m2, spread across 60 stores, plus 2,500 parking spaces. “It will be an open concept containing, for the most part, fashion chains with stores of between 50m2 and 500m2, distributed along a corridor that will run for more than than 1.5km”. Compagnie de Phalsbourg will invest €110 million in the centre and will create around 450 jobs.

This is not the only project that Compagnie de Phalsbourg has underway in Spain. The company is also working on the second phase of this project, which involves the construction of an outlet centre measuring around 22,000 m2, designed by the renowned architect Philippe Starck.

“In total, we are going to invest €170 million, plus the amount that the brands will spend opening their stores. Up to 800 people will work at our complex in Torrejón”.

In addition, the French group, which owns assets worth €1,200 million, is evaluating other projects in the Spanish market. “We are looking at other locations in Madrid, Barcelona and the País Vasco”.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake