Pryconsa Buys 14 Plots In Valdebebas For €56.7M

23 December 2015 – El Confidencial

With just one week to go until year end, Madrid has witnessed one of the largest land operations ever seen in the capital. The veteran Madrilenian property developer, Pryconsa, has acquired 14 plots of land from the Valdebebas Compensation Board for €56.7 million, according to a statement by the Board itself. The plots have a buildable surface area of 92,000 m2 and between 900 and 1,000 social housing properties (VPPL) will be constructed there.

Pryconsa has paid approximately €600/m2 for the land, a price that is significantly below the price received by the Compensation Board (€800/m2) for one of the VPPL plots it put up for auction after the summer and which was awarded to the cooperative Esta Gestión 100, which is backed by the architect Enrique Taboada.

“Given that we are selling such a large batch of plots, it is normal to offer the buyer a discount on the price”, says Hernando de Soto, the Director of Business Development at the Valdebebas Compensation Board. “Half of the plots will be transferred in January and the other half will be transferred in a year’s time”. (…).

This operation involves the sale of the final residential land assets owned by the Compensation Board and uses up practically all of the land allocated to social housing in this urban development, since less than 5,000 m2 is left now. Moreover, following this transaction, only one third of the residential land in this area will remain available. The awarded plots are located next to one of the main squares in the new neighbourhood, alongside the planned shopping centre and JOYFE school, which will be built on land that also forms part of the Compensation Board’s assets and where construction is expected to start soon.

The Madrilenian property developer is one of the great survivors of the real estate crisis and is, moreover, one of the most solvent and least indebted companies in the sector. This position has enabled it to take on what is undoubtedly the largest land operation in recent years, using its own funds. (…).

Valdebebas, under the spotlight

Valdebebas is one of the most sought-after urban developments amongst managers, property developers and investment funds. In light of the scarcity of land in popular developments, such as Arroyo del Fresno, Montecarmelo, Sanchinarro and Las Tablas, this new neighbourhood in the North of Madrid, with its sizeable supply of land, has sparked a great deal of interest.

In fact, multiple land transactions have been closed in Valdebebas during the last year. At the beginning of September, for example, Amenabar Promociones Residenciales, another one of the most active players in recent years, submitted the highest bid for four of the residential use plots – private (unsubsidised) housing – in Parque Empresarial del Olivar, which had filed for bankruptcy. The developer acquired the plots of land for €45 million.

Another one of the plots was awarded to Premier España, which also recently acquired a plot for the construction of private (unsubsidised) housing from the Compensation Board. (…).

Valdebebas is an urban area measuring almost 11 million m2, located in the north east of the capital – between La Moraleja, el IFEMA, Sanchinarro and Barajas Terminal 4. (…). Land (covering a surface area of 1 million m2) is going to be developed there for use as offices and hotels, along with 13,500 homes.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Elena Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake