Tag: Valdebebas

The Bidding Opens for the Largest Plot of Tertiary Land in Madrid

20 March 2019 – Expansión

Savills Aguirre Newman is marketing more than 180,000 m2 of land for the development of retail, hotel and office properties in the Valdebebas area of Madrid. It is the largest undeveloped tertiary use plot in the capital and the surface area for sale has been divided into three zones, all of which are being managed by the Valdebebas Compensation Board. The owners of the land include Monthisa, Bisbel, Vivienda Económica, Celteo, Coindeco and Inmobiliaria Espacio.

The plan is for the sale of the land to be completed by the beginning of the summer, which means that a large number of investors will be able to participate. Retail, hotel and office property developers have already expressed interest in the site, although no firm offers have been received yet.

The development of this new area was unblocked in February, after five years on the backburner, when the Town Hall of Madrid dismissed all of the appeals against the approval of the economic reparcelation project of the Valdebebas land.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The Land for Spain’s Largest Commercial & Leisure Centre Goes on Sale

21 February 2019 – El Economista

The Madrilenian neighbourhood of Valdebebas is going to become home to the largest commercial and leisure complex in Spain. The first steps to make that possible have been taken today, as the Valdebebas Compensation Board has granted Savills Aguirre Newman the sales mandate for the land on which this new commercial and entertainment space is going to be built, to the north of the city, according to confirmation provided by sector sources speaking to El Economista.

The land has a buildability of 145,790 m2 for commercial space, in addition to a plot for offices measuring more than 35,400 m2 and green areas spanning another 24,500 m2.

The land that is going on sale now has historically been known as the Commercial Block of Valdebebas. Initially, a large shopping centre was planned for the site, but the Compensation Board designed a new plan to build more social housing units and a school. That new plan, approved by the Town Hall of Madrid in 2014, was subsequently appealed and overturned by the Supreme Court, and so the land has been returned to its original use.

According to explanations provided last year by the President of the Valdebebas Compensation Board, César Cort, in an interview with this newspaper, several investors have approached the Compensation Board interested in this plot, however, the Board wants “to carry out a transparent process that is completely secure legally”.

In terms of the price, Cort said that it will be “a high figure”. “When this same product was sold to Metrovacesa and Riofisa, the price amounted to more than €200 million, but it will not necessarily be the same figure”, explained Cort, who assured that “we plan to sell the land during the first half of 2019”.

Residential activity

Currently, around 18,000 people live in Valdebebas and the population is expected to double to around 35,000 inhabitants over the next three to four years.

Besides the launch of the commercial block, the Town Hall of Madrid has already started to grant building permits in the residential market. In this way, there are plans afoot for the construction of 48 residential developments, which will result in the construction of 3,800 homes in total, which represent one third of the 11,400 homes planned for the Valdebebas area.

During the first few months of the year alone, more than 20 developments will obtain licences to begin the construction of 2,000 homes.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Frees Up Valdebebas and Will Sell 145,000m2 of Commercial Land

2 February 2019

A little more than three months before the municipal elections, the Madrid City Council has opted to help real estate boost the development of Valdebebas. The Governing Board of the Madrid City Council has agreed to dismiss all appeals filed against the final approval of the Valdebebas Economic Redevelopment Project.

The decision would, in practice, give a green light to the Valdebebas Compensation Board to sell plots of land for a large commercial centre with 145,794 buildable square meters and 36,448.50 buildable square meters of offices. In November 2017, almost a year and a half ago, the Board was forced to revise its 2013 urbanisation and economic rezoning project to get the Madrid City Council to once again grant building permits, which had been stopped by the municipality after it accepted the ruling by the Court of Justice of Madrid invalidating the economic rezoning project.

In October 2014, the Madrid City Council finally approved the urbanisation and rezoning project for Valdebebas that reduced the commercial area from 114,000 to 56,000 square meters, to include the construction of a private school, about 900 subsidised homes and 100 market-priced homes. The plots for the homes and the private school sold, but the Compensation Board had to cancel the sales due to the Court of Justice of Madrid’s decision. Those affected then were the school Joyfe, Pryconsa, Premier and Valdecam. In addition, all the urbanisation works for the commercial area will have to be demolished, which will entail a cost for the original owners of the land of 1.5 million euros.

The development of the commercial area has been frozen until today, after the judicial resolutions that annulled the Special Plan approved by the Cibeles Plenary on October 30, 2014 and today’s decision also presupposes the resumption the routine concession of construction licenses in Valdebebas to conclude its development.

Original Story: El Confidencial

Translation: Richard Turner

B&B to Open the First Hotel in Valdebebas

29 October 2018 – Expansión

The hotel chain B&B Hotels – owned by the fund PAI Partners – is arriving in Valdebebas with the objective of opening the first hotel in that urban development to the northeast of Madrid in 2021.

To this end, the French chain has signed an agreement with Filasa, the owner of the land on which the establishment will be built, for the rental of the plot in Valdebebas for a minimum period of 10 years.

Two buildings are going to be constructed on the plot, which has a buildable surface area of 8,000 m2. The first, which will span a surface area of 4,400 m2 and be shaped in a stepped-structure, will house the 150-room hotel. The second, which will span 3,200 m2 and take the form of a cube, will be used for offices. This property will also have a premise measuring 400 m2.

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

GMP’s Profits Rose by 81% YoY in H1 to €111.8M

26 October 2018 – Eje Prime

GMP has seen its profits soar and its revenues remain stable. The group recorded a profit of €111.8 million during the first half of 2018, up by 80.9% compared to the same period in 2017, according to a statement filed by the company with the Alternative Investment Market (MAB).

On the other hand, the company recorded revenues during the first six months of €49.5 million, in other words, 0.8% below the figure registered during the period from January to June 2017. Similarly, the EBITDA of GMP was €33.7 million in H1 2018, up by 4.3% compared to the previous year.

Founded in 1979, GMP specialises in the development, investment and management of prime offices and business parks in Madrid. The company, which made its debut on the MAB in July 2016, bases its business on the rental of the properties that it owns.

Currently, the Socimi has a portfolio of sixteen assets, which comprise a total of twenty-seven buildings and have a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 360,000 m2. All of them are located in Madrid, as is the buildable surface area spanning 65,105 m2 that the group owns and which is concentrated in the urban developments of Valdebebas and Las Tablas.

GMP’s project portfolio also includes a residential tourism development in Alicante, which goes by the name of Las Colinas Golf&Country Club. Nevertheless, one of the company’s most recent operations involved the disbursement of €24 million for the construction of a prime office block in Madrid (see photo).

GMP was a family-owned company until September 2014 when GIC Private Limited, which has a presence in other companies in the Spanish real estate sector, such as in the P3 Logistic Parks group, entered the shareholding by acquiring 32.9% of the share capital. That operation included an investment amounting to €200 million, capital that has allowed the company to go for gold in the Madrilenian office market.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Pinar & Baupost Agree Purchase of Levitt & Create New Property Developer Giant

19 February 2018 – El Confidencial

The most coveted property developer of recent times may change hands within the next few days. Levitt is holding advanced talks with Q21 Real Estate, a company created by the joining of forces between the former Grupo Pinar and the US fund Baupost, to close its sale this week and, in any case, before the end of February, according to several sources familiar with the operation.

The agreement will put an end to almost two years of to-ing and fro-ing with different interested parties in acquiring the property developer, a reference player in the market for premium homes, and will also create a new giant in the sector within the convulsive Spanish residential market.

As El Confidencial revealed, it was in 2016 when Levitt first started to listen to offers as a formula for dealing with its problem of generational succession, following the death of the group’s founder and alma mater, José María Bosch Aymerich, without any direct descendants.

Owner of one of the best land portfolios in Madrid, with land in locations such as Alcobendas, Las Rozas, Pozuelo and Boadilla del Monte, Levitt has proved tempting over the past two years for giants such as Goldman Sachs, Apollo, Värde and even the fund Baupost itself, which was on the verge of acquiring the property developer last year.

But on the home straight, those negotiations were called off due to differences over price, as well as over the continuity of the project and Levitt’s team. After closing that door, the fund found another window open through Q21, the property developer that has placed a better offer on the table than the one put forward by the US fund, and one that ensures the survival of Levitt.

Who is Q21?

Constituted in July 2014, Q21 Real Estate has a brand that is still new and a workforce of just 17 employees – both features have facilitated its agreement with Levitt, with which it shares its vision of high-quality developments.

Currently, Q21 has nine developments underway, mostly in the Community of Madrid (Boadilla del Monte, Valdebebas, Getafe and Mostoles), but also in Málaga and Valencia. Altogether, the firm is working on 1,500 homes.

With assets worth €6.3 million and net equity of €3.58 million in 2016 (the last year for which audited figures are available), Q21 generated revenues of €5.27 million, an operating profit of €3.5 million and a profit of €2.76 million.

Its numbers are well below those recorded by Levitt, whose turnover amounted to €62 million and net profit €6.3 million. Moreover, Levitt owns a portfolio worth €200 million, its brand is recognised in the market and its history spans almost fifty years in Spain after it arrived in 1971 to introduce the US residential urbanisation model.

Original story: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Baraka Completes €7M Capital Increase & Ends Deal With Hines

13 December 2017 – Eje Prime

Trinitario Casanova is ending the year with a low profile. After the hype of Edificio España and his various other investments in the Spanish real estate market, the Murcian businessman is preparing for next year by inflating his financial capacity by €7 million. Moreover, his company recently broke its agreement with Hines to market the asset that the former sold to the latter, specifically, number 13 Calle Preciados, according to sources close to the group speaking to Eje Prime.

The group’s most recent activity includes a €6.8 million capital increase by the company Baraka Invest Global, the investment arm of Trinitario Casanova, through which he invests in real estate and other types of business. In this way, the company’s share capital rose to €96.8 million, according to the Official Gazette of the Mercantile Registry.

Baraka Invest Global is the company through which Trinitario Casanova has carried out its most recent real estate operations. It is also the parent company of other entities such as Baraka Ventures of Florida, specialising in real estate investments; Baraka Viviendas, specialising in the development of homes and residential land; and Baraka Renta, which is responsible for promoting and operating shopping centres for rent.

Despite fortifying its investment companies, the firm has lost several businesses along the way this year. One example is the agreement that it held with Hines regarding number 13 Calle Preciados. Sources in the sector explain that, although Casanova had signed a marketing agreement with the US group, that deal is no longer valid, and Hines is now solely responsible for marketing the asset (…).

Baraka sells land

Nevertheless, Trinitario Casanova has been pushing ahead with many of the projects in his portfolio (…). In November, he sold the last three residential plots he owned in one of the development areas in the north of Madrid, Valdebebas. In fact, Grupo Baraka sold land with a total buildable surface area of 35,000 m2, after reaching an agreement with the joint venture between Gestilar and Morgan Stanley. The new owners plan to invest €100 million on the construction of around 200 homes (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Land Shortage Causes House Prices to Soar in Madrid

5 November 2017 – El Mundo

House prices are on the rise in Madrid, due to the shortage of available buildable land and the high pent-up demand (the Spanish capital is capable of absorbing around 10,000 new homes per year and just as many second-hand homes). That was one of the main conclusions from the meeting organised last week by El Mundo in collaboration with Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN) to analyse the likely impact of the 11,000 new homes that are being planned as part of Madrid Nuevo Norte, the official name for the project more commonly known as Operación Chamartín.

According to Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores, Madrid Nuevo Norte is an “absolutely essential project for that area of Madrid”, because both of the existing urban developments, namely, Valdebebas and Arroyo del Fresno, as well as the neighbouring municipalities, Alcobendas and San Sebastían de los Reyes “have run out of land”. In his opinion, “anything that places this part of Madrid on the market is a good thing, even if it causes price inflation, as seen in Valdebebas, where homes now cost more than €3,000/m2″.

Beyond its importance from a residential perspective, “Madrid Nuevo Norte also involves a major urban regeneration project, which offers a golden opportunity to position Madrid as one of the greatest capital cities in Europe”, according to Carolina Roca, Vice-President of the Association of Property Developers in Madrid (Asprima). In this sense, the final plans – which will probably be approved during the course of next year – include the construction of a large business centre, as well as a major refit of Chamartín station (which will house the future headquarters of Adif and Renfe).

Although this is an ambitious project from every perspective, “the area to the north of Madrid has capacity to absorb much higher figures than the 11,000 homes currently forecast”, says Samuel Población, Head of Residential and Land at the consultancy firm CBRE. “The absorption rate that we have seen in Valdebebas in just five years serves as an example”, he adds.

Moreover, the current rates of house building confirm that demand is continuing to grow right across the Community of Madrid. Based on the number of construction permits granted, the region is currently building 22,000 properties per year, a figure that contrasts with the 80,000 properties that are going to be built in Spain as a whole in 2017. According to Roca, “property development is performing well in Madrid, but the same dynamism is not being replicated across the country and so, we are still a long way off the 150,000 homes per year that need to be built”. That means that the region “has doubled its weight, something that is not positive because Madrid cannot cope with the real estate business of the whole of Spain”.

But the main problem, according to the head of the Madrilenian property developers, is that the municipal authorities are not responding to this increase in demand by offering new plots of land. “The available buildable land will have been used up in three or four years and no one is performing the repositioning that is necessary for after that period”. (…).

The main consequence of the shortage of raw material in the hands of property developers “is a significant rise in the prices of plots, which end up being passed on in the form of more expensive house prices”, explains Población (…).

In this context, Corral also stressed the need to promote new urban developments as “generators of homes for the most disadvantaged households, as shown by the more than 2,200 social housing units included in Madrid Nuevo Norte (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Rubén G. López)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Asprima: Buildable Land is Running Out in Madrid

25 November 2017 – ABC

Land is running out and the market is becoming distorted in the Spanish capital. For two years, the price of buildable land for the construction of new homes in the Community of Madrid has been rising, especially in the centre. There is not much buildable land left and the space that is available has seen its value rise due to the increase in demand. This equation means that, unless new variables are introduced, we will end up seeing an acceleration in house prices. “Real estate activity has returned with a vengeance and new housing is needed”, according to Daniel Cuervo, the Director General of the Association of Property Developers in Madrid (Asprima) (…). By way of example, “in Valdebebas, two years ago, people were paying €800 per square metre for buildable land “and now that price is above €1,500/m2 (…)”.

He also thinks that the property developers feel very certain about the sale of their homes “and that there is competition between them”, which translates into high house prices. Certain political decisions have paralysed several developments (…).

The Councillor for the Environment and Town Planning at the Community of Madrid, Pedro Rollán, was quite explicit this week when he said that “talking about housing requires us to talk about land” (…). “Many people have been obliged to go outside of Madrid due to the (high) price of land (in the centre),” he said, at a conference organised by the Association of Housing Managers (AGV). At the same time, he called for “a policy that allows for the development of sufficient land to deal with the true demand in the city of Madrid”. Rollán made reference to the importance of the “large batch of land in the south-east of Madrid”, where “at least 50% of the homes will be subsidised properties”.

Value of land

Daniel Cuervo also said that the project underway in Los Berrocales, Los Ahijones, Los Cerros and Valdecarros (the Strategy for the Southeast, within the municipality of Madrid) will allow “the relaxation of new house prices, given that more than 100,000 homes are planned”. To this end, the Town Hall needs to “continue complying with urban planning legislation to convert plots into buildable land”.

The Director General of Asprima also (…) made reference to a study conducted by IESE, which indicates the need for 13,000 new homes per year in the municipality of Madrid “and the impossibility of achieving that”.

According to the experts, the price of land, with respect to the price of a home, should not exceed 20-25% of the total value; and the traditional unwritten rules indicate that it should represent one third. “In the neighbourhood of Salamanca, in certain cases, the price paid for land may reach 70%-75% of the final value of the home”, explains Óscar Ochoa, Director of the New Build department at the real estate firm Gilmar (…).

Areas on the rise

If we talk about other parts of Madrid, things change. In San Sebastián de los Reyes, for example, the value of land “represents around 30%-35%”. Ochoa warns that it is not only in the centre that it is impossible to find new land, the supply is also scarce along some of the main access roads. “Such is the case in Las Tablas, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Montecarmelo and Valdebebas along the A-1 and in Pozuelo and Las Rosas along the A-6”.

For Ochoa, the solution involves establishing urban development plans designed to meet the true demand for the areas (…). Ochoa acknowledges that in terms of buildable land “we are in the hands of the politicians”. That is why he asks “for the plots to be organised and for the concession and licence processes to be streamlined”.

According to the Community of Madrid, there is a need for between 15,000 and 20,000 homes per year, including the repositioning of homes for those who want to change the kind of property they live in and new homes that are built. (…).

The situation is also affecting the rental market, according to José María García Gómez, Director General of Housing and Rehabilitation for the Community of Madrid (…). “The rental market is under pressure and prices are rising there once again”.

García Gómez believes that the role of the Administration “is not to put obstacles in the way, but rather to grant licences. He believes that the new Land Act, which is being drafted, will bring stability, pointing out that of the 178 municipalities in the region, only 20 have a general housing plan in place. The conclusion is clear: much remains to be done” (…).

Original story: ABC (by Belén Rodrigo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valdebebas Takes First Steps to Unblock its Construction Licences

24 November 2017 – Expansión 

On 30 November, the Valdebebas Compensation Board (Madrid) is going to approve the largest land reparcelling project in history, which will involve the processing of 15,000 registry notifications. That will allow the unblocking of the licence granting procedure, which is affecting almost 4,700 homes, around 40% of the total planned for the area.

In total, 11,400 homes are planned for Valdebebas. Currently, 4,800 units have received their first occupancy licences and another 2,000 are being built. Moreover, 850 homes are under development and 3,800 are pending development. These two last categories are affected by the block imposed. More than 16,000 people already live in Valdebebas and by the end of the year, there will be around 18,000.

“We want to comply with the route map set out by the Town Hall. The mere beginning of this process should give rise to the lifting of the suspension over the granting of licences”, explained the Managing Director of the Board, Marcos Sánchez, to Expansión.

With the economic reparcelling, the pending urban planning charge, which amounts to €30 million, is redistributed. The previous reparcelling, approved in 2015, was annulled by the High Court of Justice (TSJM). It also ruled that the special plan for the so-called ‘Pastilla Comercial’ was void.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake