Unibail Will Invest at Least €800M in Spain Over 6 Years

26 January 2018 – Expansión

Unibail-Rodamco, the largest European real estate group, has committed investments for projects in its portfolio in Spain amounting to, at least, €800 million between now and 2024; it has already disbursed €120 million of that figure.

The Director of Development and Investments at Unibail-Rodamco in España, Javier Solís (pictured above, left), explained yesterday at a meeting organised by IESE, Tinsa and Savills Aguirre Newman, that the company has projects in its portfolio spanning a new gross leasable area (including extensions) of 187,000 m2 and a total committed investment of more than €800 million, reports Efe.

Of the projects underway, the director highlighted the shopping centre in Benidorm (Alicante), whose construction has already commenced and which is expected to open in 2020. In his opinion, the increase in visitor numbers and sales at shopping centres suggests “that returns have the potential to rise”.

The director explained that some of the investment planned for the coming years will be spent on improving its assets so that “they are more than just a place to shop”. In this sense, Solía advocates transforming them into centres for meeting up, having fun and being entertained, for enjoying new gastronomic experiences and with higher standards in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability.

In terms of future possible purchases, Solís said that the company’s intention is to incorporate new assets that are already operational, although, for the time being, it does not have any operations on the table.

In Spain, Unibail-Rodamco owns a dozen shopping centres and has two more under development. Its most high profile assets include Parquesur and La Vaguada (in Madrid) and Les Glòries and La Maquinista (in Barcelona), worth around €3.7 billion.

Westfield

Unibail-Rodamco, which has a presence in 11 European countries, reached an agreement at the end of 2017 to purchase its Australian rival Westfield for $24.7 billion (€19.8 billion).

The operation will result in the creation of a colossus with a gross asset value of €61.1 billion and a presence in 13 countries. Following the integration, Unibail-Rodamco will extend its competitive distance over its main European rivals, Klépierre and Hammerson. Indeed, one month ago, the latter announced an agreement to purchase Intu and grow in the shopping centre segment.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meridia Capital Will Debut its Socimi on the MAB in 2018

13 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Socimi fever is never ending in the real estate sector. In fact, it is growing. The latest company to bet on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) is Meridia Capital Partners, a Barcelona-based fund led by the veteran businessman Javier Faus, which has announced it is going to debut its Socimi on the stock market, most likely at the beginning of 2018. This incorporation will come after today’s debut on the stock market of the logistics firm P3 Logistics Parks, and after Student Properties, which will soon become the first listed real estate investment company specialising in student halls.

Meridia III, which is what the Socimi is called, owns assets worth more than €100 million, according to Cinco Días. The future listed company owns a diversified portfolio with investments in every sector, from offices and logistics to residential, retail and hotels, but focused, for the time being, in Spain’s two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona.

Constituted last year, Meridia III was created as the third investment vehicle of the fund, created by Faus in 2001. Its most recent acquisitions include the Barnasud shopping centre, for which it paid €35 million to Unibail-Rodamco.

Moreover, the company has carried out seven capital increases in the last year and a half, amounting to €50 million in total, with the aim of financing its future plans.

In total, Meridia III has an investment capacity of €500 million, of which it has already spent more than 50%.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Amazon Launches Automated Lockers in Repsol, Día and Telepizza Stores

28 November 2017 – El País

Amazon is bringing its automated lockers to Spain. They are now located in more than 120 places across 30 Spanish cities, where customers may receive their packages in a simple and safe way, according to a statement issued by the e-commerce giant today (Tuesday).

The lockers are located at selected Repsol gas stations, Telepizza restaurants, Merlin and Unibail shopping centres, Día supermarkets and OhMyBox storage spaces. They are located in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Sevilla, Tarragona, Valencia, Granada, Murcia and 21 other cities.

This is a collection option for customers who do not want to have to be at home to receive deliveries. Amazon Lockers are automated lockers from where customers can collect their packages at their own convenience. Amazon’s customers can choose the Amazon Locker that fits with their daily schedule, be it at a gas station on the outskirts of town or at one of the shopping centres, pizza restaurants or supermarkets located in the city centre.

More than half of the pick-up points are located at Repsol gas stations, specifically, it has 70 sites across 21 provinces, according to the oil and gas company.

Barcode access

After buying on Amazon.es, customers are invited to select the Amazon Locker of their choice where they can collect their package at the time that best suits them. As soon as the package arrives at the locker, the customer receives an email notification with a unique code, as well as the address and opening hours of the locker that he/she has selected. Once at the pick-up point, customers can either enter the code manually or scan the barcode to access their packages.

Customers have three days to collect their packages before they are returned to Amazon. Some of the lockers are available for customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Our customers in 30 Spanish cities can now use Amazon Lockers. We are delighted that they can choose where and when they collect their orders”, said François Nuyts, Vice-President and Director General of Amazon.es and Amazon.it. “We are investing heavily in Spain to constantly improve the shopping experience for our customers and we are proud to offer Amazon Lockers as an alternative, as well as to work with our partner companies, such as Repsol, Telepizza, Unibail and Día, amongst many others, to offer a new service to our customers.

Original story: El País (by Ramón Muñoz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Unibail Commits To Invest €700M In Spain Over 7 Years

15 June 2017 – Expansión

The Franco-Dutch company Unibail Rodamco, the largest commercial real estate company in Europe, has decided to strengthen its commitment to the Spanish market, with the renewal of its management team and the launch of an ambitious investment plan for the next seven years.

The real estate company, which owns 13 shopping centres in Spain, has reorganised its management committee in the country. The most significant change has come in the form of the replacement of its most senior director, Simon Orchard – the CEO in Spain for the last 25 years will hand over the baton to Benoît Dohin, who has served as the subsidiary’s Director of Operations until now. The change will be effective from 30 June, according to sources at Unibail Rodamco.

Benoît Dohin holds a degree from HEC. In 2006, he joined the real estate group, where he has held several management positions, working in operations as well as on the merger between Unibail and Rodamco, and the acquisition of La Maquinista. In 2014, Dohin joined the team in Madrid as Director of Operations.

Following Dohin’s incorporation, Unibail’s management committee in Spain will comprise Javier Solía, Director of Development, who will also head up the Investment team going forward; Enrique Illan, Finance Director, who will also lead CSR; Laetitia Ferracci, who will replace Dohin as Director of Operations; Marta Bartolomé, Director of HR; and Ángeles García, Head of Legal.

The new management team will tackle the company’s new strategic plan, with the aim of strengthening its position in the Spanish market. Currently, the company owns a portfolio of 13 shopping centres in Spain (including La Vaguada in Madrid and Bonaire in Valencia) worth €3,556 million, which together receive 126.2 million visitors per year.

Investment plan

Unibail Rodamco plans to invest €677 million between now and 2024 on major projects, a figure that will also cover other expenditure on smaller projects.

Its plans include both the transformation of its existing centres, as well as the launch of new properties. In this vein, Unibail is working on the construction of a new shopping centre in Benidorm, measuring 58,000m2. The company plans to invest €200 million in this project and inaugurate it in 2020. In addition to the centre in Benidorm, the group has projects underway in Palma de Mallorca, where it owns a plot of land for the development of a new centre; in Barcelona and San Sebastián.

At the end of this year, Unibail plans to inaugurate the expansion of the Glòries shopping centre in Barcelona, in which it will invest another €140 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The 4 Largest Socimis Will Specialise By Asset Type

31 January 2017 – Cinco Días

Hotels, logistics assets, offices, shopping centres. The four largest Socimis – Merlin, Hispania, Lar España and Axiare – are entering their third year of life, and as they do so, they are embarking upon a new phase of specialisation by type of asset – the aim is to make their management more effective and ensure that they remain attractive to large international funds. (…). 

Between them, Merlin, Hispania, Axiare and Lar España now own assets worth almost €14,000 million – they have created small empires out of nothing.

Hispania looks set to become one of the major stars of 2017 with a series of operations planned to strengthen its already high degree of specialisation in hotels. The Socimi, in which the magnate George Soros owns a 16% stake, has a portfolio worth €1,793 million (including its most recent purchases at their acquisition prices). 61% of the portfolio value relates to hotels and most are located in the Canary Islands (70%) and the Balearic Islands (16%).

The experts forecast that this company, managed by Azora and led by Concha Osácar, will put the majority of its offices and residential assets on the market, and at the same time, will continue to buy up hotels. (…). 

Meanwhile, Merlin has taken steps to divest its residential and hotel assets, transferring them to Testa and Foncière des Murs, respectively, and is continuing to expand its core portfolio with its recent purchase of the Torre Agbar office block in Barcelona for €142 million. The Socimi’s portfolio currently comprises offices (48%), shopping centres (18%) – Merlin is now one of the major players in this segment – retail premises (22%) and logistics assets (5%). Experts consider that the latter have enormous potential to generate higher returns for this Socimi.

Axiare, led by Luis López Herrera-Oria, has already focused heavily on offices, which account for 73% of its €1,300 million portfolio. It has enhanced its presence significantly in recent weeks through its acquisitions of the headquarters of PSA, Cuatrecasas, McKinsey and Vocento for €242 million in total.

The Socimi’s high decree of specialisation in offices has led Colonial to take advantage of the fund Perry Capital’s departure from its share capital to acquire 15% of the Socimi. Some in the sector view this move as a precursor to a possible takeover bid, but the Catalan real estate company has denied the claim repeatedly. (…). 

Finally, Lar, led by José Luis del Valle and Miguel Pereda, has managed to specialise mainly in shopping centres, which now account for 75% of its €1,201 million portfolio. With shareholders that include Pimco and Franklin Templeton, the company owns 17 assets including shopping centres, retail parks and hypermarkets.

In just three years, Lar España has risen up the ranks to become the third largest owner of shopping centres in Spain, behind Unibail and Merlin. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Deutsche Bank Buys Diagonal Mar For €495M

2 August 2016 – Expansión

Yesterday, Deutsche Bank completed the purchase of the Diagonal Mar shopping centre from Northwood for around €495 million, making it the largest shopping centre transaction in the history of the Spanish market.

In this way, although the final price has been adjusted downwards with respect to the non-binding offer presented by the entity (which valued the asset at €505 million), it still exceeds the €451 million that Intu Properties paid for Puerto Venecia (Zaragoza) and the €375 million that Klépierre spent on the acquisition of Plenilunio (Madrid).

The operation also generates significant capital gains for Northwood, which acquired the property from the Irish bad bank Nama for €150 million in 2015. CBRE has advised this operation on the sell-side, whilst Deloitte advised the buy-side.

Background

The shopping centre, located in district 22@ in Barcelona, has passed through many hands since the real estate company Hines was awarded the mixed use project at the end of the 1990s. The project included a residential area, offices, hotels and a large shopping centre, with a constructed surface area of 100,500 sqm and a gross leasable area (GLA) of 87,000 sqm, as well as 5,000 parking spaces.

In 2002, the German investment fund Deka paid around €240 million for the property, which, was subsequently sold, in 2006, to the Irish investment group Quinlan for €300 million, in its first operation in Spain. Nevertheless, following the burst of the Irish bubble, the asset was taken over by the banks.

Three years after that operation and in a very different economic environment, the property has generated a lot of interest. Specifically, 18 candidates submitted non-binding offers for the property, including Axa, Invesco, Hines, Unibail, the Singapore sovereign fund GIC, Blackstone and the Socimi Merlin, which was the only Spanish company that submitted an offer, for less than €450 million. Only four candidates participated in the final phase: CBRE Global Investment, ECE, Henderson TH and Deutsche Bank.

In order to reposition the asset, Deutsche Bank plans to invest €30 million over four years in a project that includes restructuring the top floor of the shopping centre to create more space for high-end fashion brands (€15 million), refurbishing the other floors with a budget of around €8 million and renovating the centre’s exterior façade for almost €7 million.

With this renovation, the purchaser expects to strengthen Diagonal Mar’s competitive position and increase its gross operating profit (EBITDA) over five years from €20 million in 2015 to more than €26 million.

Impact

The shopping centre, opened in November 2001, was designed by Jean-Louis Solal and the architect Robert A.M. Stern. Diagonal Mar is located in a prime spot, approximately five kilometres north east of the city centre. With more than 200 outlets dedicated to fashion, restaurants, leisure, a bowling alley and other services, the centre has 4,800 parking spaces and an outdoor space: La Terrassa del Mar. Diagonal Mar received 16.7 million visitors last year, up by 2.3% and generated net sales – excluding Alcampo (which falls outside of the transaction perimeter) – of €210 million, up by 8.5%. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake