Aquila Capital to Invest €250M in 1,300 New Flats in Barcelona

16 March 2019 – Expansión

Aquila Capital is planning to invest €250 million in two large developments comprising 650 flats each in Barcelona through its German fund manager AQ Acentor. Specifically, the new homes are going to be constructed in Viladecans and La Marina del Prat Vermell.

Original story: Expansión

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

B&B Sells another Hotel in Spain to the fund Corum for €6.6M

22 January 2019 – Expansión

The French hotel chain B&B Hotels – owned by the fund PAI Partners – has sold a hotel in Viladecans (Barcelona) to the French fund Corum for €6.6 million. It is the chain’s largest hotel in Spain, with 216 rooms.

This operation follows the sale of eight hotels that the company completed last year, also to Corum. Like it did then, B&B is going to continue operating the latest asset under a rental arrangement for at least 15 years. Following the sale, B&B owns just two hotels in Spain, in Oviedo and Barcelona (…).

B&B now operates 30 establishments in Spain and plans to continue growing its portfolio in the country during 2019. Its hotels in the country are owned by funds, Socimis and family offices, such as Corum, Atom, Covivo, Doalca and Azata.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aquila to Invest €200M in 2 Developments in Barcelona

14 January 2019 – Eje Prime

Aquila Capital is stepping up a gear in Spain. The German fund manager, through its property developer AQ Acentor, is going to invest €200 million in two residential developments in the province of Barcelona. The company has closed two land purchases, one in Viladecans and the other in Zona Franca, where it is going to construct 1,100 homes, according to Sven Schoel, manager of the company, speaking to Eje Prime.

In Viladecans, the property developer has acquired a plot of land spanning 500,000 m2 of free and protected land on which it is going to build 500 homes. On the other hand, in the Zona Franca, right next to Barcelona Fira District, the company has acquired a plot measuring 70,000 m2 of free and protected land for the construction of 600 homes.

“For us, Spain is a fundamental market at the moment and for that reason, we are looking for more land, above all in Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla and Bilbao”, explained the executive, who added that during the course of 2019, the company expects to close more than one operation in those cities.

Following the latest two acquisitions, AQ Acentor currently has 5,000 homes under development, distributed over seven projects: three in the province of Barcelona (in Sant Adrià del Besòs, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Zona Franca, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Viladecans), two in Madrid (in the neighbourhoods of Lla Moraleja and La Ciudad de los Ángeles), two in Málaga (one in Rincón de la Victoria and another one in Estepona), and a final one in Valencia.

In Valencia, the company is working on the development of a residential and tertiary use complex, where it has made an investment of more than €350 million. That is the project through which the company debuted in Spain, in September 2018. It will house a total of 1,800 homes on a plot spanning 130,000 m2 (…).

On the other hand, the group also still has its sights set on Portugal, the country that Aquila Capital has entered through investments in the renewable energy sector. “We have identified two operations in the Lisbon residential market that we hope to close during the course of this year”, said the director.

AQ Acentor is financed by Aquila Capital, which is also present in the German residential market and has a portfolio of assets worth €7 billion. The fund manager’s commitment to the property developer is long term. In fact, the manager of the company denies any plans to debut on the stock market soon. “We have been in Spain for almost five years and we have no intention of divesting”, concluded Schoel.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Berta Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinver To Invest €80M In A New Shopping Outlet In Barcelona

9 April 2015 – Expansión

Construction work will begin on a new fashion outlet in Viladecans (Barcelona) in May. The project will require an investment of €80 million and will create around 600 direct jobs and up to 400 indirect jobs during its first phase.

The developers of the project, dubbed Viladecans The Style Outlets, are the real estate group Neinver, which specialises in shopping centres and outlets, and the fund manager TIAA Henderson Real Estate. The two companies signed an agreement in January to invest jointly (50% each) in projects such as the one in Viladecans. The plot where the future outlet will be constructed was acquired last December from Incasol (the Catalan Land Institute or Instituto Catalán del Suelo) for €24.5 million. Around 130 shops will be opened during the project’s two phases.

Original story: Expansión (by M. Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake