Tag: turn-key

French Construction Giant Bouygues Returns To Spain

10 July 2017 – Cinco Días

Bouygues is returning to Spain with its real estate business after years during which the company has stayed away from this activity due to the property crisis. The French construction giant has already disembarked with a team for its property developer subsidiary focused on both Spain and Portugal. And it has already been commissioned to build an office building in Madrid, where it is due to start work at the beginning of 2018.

The French company has decided to look for opportunities in Spain in light of the recovery in the property sector and the improvement in the economy. “We have waited for the macroeconomic indicators to improve and we are looking again at the development of tertiary assets, such as offices and hotels”, revealed Ana Vidal, Director General at Bouygues Inmobiliaria.

The director previously led the company’s real estate project in Spain – where it has been present since 1989 – during the previous boom at the beginning of the century, but after the crisis, Bouygues hauled in the sails and Vidal moved to Paris. She returned to Madrid at the end of 2016 to identify opportunities. “We are going to work in three main businesses: the promotion of offices, residences for students and elderly people, and hotels”, said the Director General.

The whole time, the company has held onto three plots of land that it owns, two in Madrid and one in the 22@ district in Barcelona.

The first project, which is now in its design phase, is being developed in the Julián Camarillo area of Madrid, an industrial district that is home to offices and residential properties in the east of the capital, outside of the M-30. On this plot, Bouygues Inmobiliaria plans to build an 18,000 m2 office building.

Luis Vidal + Architects has been engaged to design the property. The Spanish firm is known for the design of Terminal 2 at Heathrow airport, amongst others major works. It also just led a renovation project for the Socimi GMP of Saint-Gobain’s former headquarters, now known as Castellana 77. Moreover, the firm has collaborated with the architect Renzo Piano in the recently inaugurated Centro Botín in Santander.

The company plans to invest €50 million on the construction of the building from 2018 onwards, over a period of approximately two years.

The other plot of land in Madrid – which it owns jointly with Vía Célere (owned by Värde Partners) is also located in Julián Camarillo. “We think that it is a good office area as an alternative to the centre, where buildings of the highest quality are being constructed. It is a neighbourhood with a lot of potential, like the 22@ district in Barcelona, although it lacks planning”, says Vidal. Finally, it is precisely in that new district of the Catalan capital where Bouygues plans to construct a tertiary use building in the future.

Bouygues Inmobiliaria is planning an annual investment of between €30 million and €50 million in Spain over the next few years, specialising in turn-key buildings. For the time being, the first project being managed by the team of professionals that has recently started work in Madrid does not have a tenant, but Vidal is convinced that it is not a problem, because the firm already has sufficient own funds to start work.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Axiare Acquires 2nd Phase Of Logistics Project In San Fernando De Henares

3 July 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Axiare Patrimonio has completed the acquisition of the second phase of its logistics park in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) after having pre-leased a significant part of the first phase, which it acquired just one year ago.

This latest acquisition represents the culmination of a pre-agreement reached in 2016, during the purchase of the first phase of the project, for which the Socimi reserved the right to develop a second, turn-key, phase.

The CEO of Axiare Patrimonio, Luis López de Herrera-Oria, stated that “this operation shows once again our capacity to act outside of the market, acquiring assets with great potential in complex operations. We continue to faithfully fulfil our business plan, with the ultimate objective of maximising value for our shareholders”.

The Socimi has invested €38 million in the acquisition of this second phase. This new investment will add two new logistics warehouses, with a gross leasable area of 60,000 m2, to the three already planned for the first phase of the project, all integrated within the same logistics complex. The handover of this second turnkey phase is scheduled for the second half of 2018.

In total, Axiare Patrimonio will invest €81 million in the development of the two phases of this logistics park, which is located in the first ring of Madrid, in the best area of the Corredor de Henares. It is one of the most important logistics centres in the country, located just 10km from the airport and 18km from the city centre. High-profile first-rate tenants, such as Amazon, TNT and XPO, also have their logistics centres close to this site.

The technical specifications of the new warehouses will be identical to those constructed during the first phase, which means that they will be high-quality facilities, with LEED environmental certificates.

With this off-market operation, Axiare Patrimonio has invested €195 million in the acquisition of five properties in line with its investment strategy.

The project will be developed by Grupo Barral, a company specialising in the logistics sector.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Supply Of New Homes In Madrid Increases By 68%

6 May 2016 – Knight Frank

We are talking about a changing trend in the new build residential market in Madrid. The projected supply is increasing significantly – up to 68% more construction permits were granted in 2015, the third consecutive year of increases – but that volume is still insufficient to satisfy demand. This is the main finding from the latest report about new-builds from the real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank.

Currently, the municipality of Madrid has a stock of around 3,000 new homes. 30% are located inside the M-30 (ring road), where supply is limited due to the shortage of land. The area between the M-30 and M-40 ring roads is home to 20% of the supply, whilst the remaining 50% is located, for the most part, in the PAUs.

The average absorption rate of the product supplied over the last year has been 37%. Most of this absorption has happened in the PAUs (12%), which indicates very reasonable levels in areas that are continuing to establish themselves.

According to Ernesto Tarazona, Managing Partner for Residential and Land at Knight Frank, “the lack of stock, together with the increase in demand has resulted in the sale of new build homes that have been on the market for years”.

In 2015, we saw how auto-promotion and cooperative activity decreased by 8%, in favour of traditional property developers. “Although it is a small percentage, the future trend points to a continuation of the positive recovery, to the extent that access for financing for property developers is more flexible”, said Tarazona.

The number of new build transactions increased by 15% with respect to the previous year. 73% of transactions were bought off plan and the remaining 27% were turn-key projects.

By area, the PAUs lead in terms of demand, with 48% and there, Valdebebas (20%) and the Ensanche de Vallecas (10%) stand out, in part due to the concentration of more affordable supply. The area inside the M-30 ring road comes next in the ranking, accounting for 23% of demand. There, the neighbourhoods of Tetuán (6%), Centro (4%) and Chamberí (4%) are the most popular. Finally, the area between the M-30 and the M-40 receives 18% of demand and the area beyond the M-40 accounts for 11%.

Original story: Knight Frank

Translation: Carmel Drake