Tag: workforce

How Cerberus Became Spain’s Largest RE Company

3 December 2017 – Voz Pópuli

If you are thinking about buying a home over the next few months, statistically, it is likely that Cerberus will be the vendor. The US fund is one of the players that arrived in Spain at the height of the financial crisis (between 2010 and 2012), with the objective of acquiring banks and real estate companies, just like it had done in other countries. The former did not happen, despite several attempts to take over some of the former savings banks. But the conquest of the property sector went a lot better: so much so that the fund now controls more than €50 billion in assets and has just starred in the second largest operation in the Spanish real estate sector in recent years.

Those close to Cerberus define it as a fund that is meticulous, aggressive in its negotiating style and persistent. It has proven that last quality with the patience it has shown searching for major operations in Spain over many years. Last week, it finally was in a position to purchase BBVA’s property. It is the fund’s largest acquisition to date in Spain and it is going to cost €4 billion, most of which will be financed by Morgan Stanley.

Five key people inside the fund have been instrumental to the success of this operation, namely: Frank W. Bruno, one of the main directors of the fund at the global level; Lee S. Millstein, another key director of Cerberus, who has been overseeing the business in Spain for years; Manuel González-Cid, Senior Advisor to the fund and former Finance Director at BBVA, and his team; David Teitlebaum, head of the fund in Europe; and Daniel Dejanovic, head of the real estate business in Europe.

The Aznar junior factor

Several other people have also participated, although to a lesser extent: Carlos Abad, CEO at Haya Real Estate, the real estate servicer of Cerberus in Spain; Juan Hoyos, former President at McKinsey in Spain and President of Haya; John Snow, President of Cerberus, who met with the President of BBVA, Francisco González, to propose the deal in the first place; and José Maria Aznar Botella, son of the former Spanish President. The story of this fund in Spain has been inextricably linked to the incorporation of Aznar junior in recent years, at least from the point of view of the media. The bankers who have worked with him describe him as a “strong professional” who has been key to the fund’s success in Spain.

Both Hoyos and Aznar were most certainly instrumental during Cerberus’s first operation in Spain, in 2013, when it purchased Bankia Habitat, in the so-called Project Platform. It was a purchase that revolutionised the sector and paved the way for other similar deals, such as the sale of Altamira, Servihabitat and Anticipa.

Unlike what has happened with BBVA, Cerberus’s operation with Bankia did not involve an asset purchase, but rather the management of that entity’s assets. Like in other similar operations, the fund takes control of the workforce and the administration and sale of debt and foreclosed assets, in exchange for management commissions. Bankia Habitat became Haya Real Estate and subsequently expanded its perimeter after teaming up with Sareb, Cajamar and, this year, Liberbank. Those deals involved the disbursement of around €0.5 billion by Cerberus. Added to the €4 billion paid to BBVA and the fund’s other portfolio purchases, the total figure exceeds €5 billion.

The result of this strategy is that Haya Real Estate has reached a management volume of more than €40 billion, has almost 700 employees and recorded a profit of €31 million (in 2016).

Cerberus’s networks in Spain do not end there: it owns a doubtful debt management firm, Gescobro; a securitisation firm, Haya Tutulización; a stake in another manager of bank debt, Hipoges, whose sale it is currently negotiating with KKR; and dozens of companies where it keeps its real estate assets. As if they were not enough, it will soon be able to add the property developer Inmoglacier to this list.

And that is only one of the strings to Cerberus’s bow in Spain, it also engages in large business ventures such as Renovalia, which is currently up for sale. Operations such as the one involving BBVA reflect the fact that funds like this are still very interested in Spain, despite the uncertainties being generated by Cataluña. And beyond the foreign money that they bring, they should be seen as the new influential players, capable of moving markets such as the real estate sector. And they are here to stay. For the time being at least.

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrilenian Investor Group Buys Hotel Las Vegas In Málaga

17 November 2017 – Diario Sur

A Madrilenian investment group has acquired Hotel Las Vegas, in the centre of Málaga, which has been operating for more than half a century. The new owners, who want to remain anonymous, have signed an agreement with the Malagan chain Soho Boutique Hotels, founded by Antonio Gordillo and Gonzalo Armenteros de Dalmases, to operate this hotel facility for a period of 30 years. Although the amount paid for the purchase operation has not been disclosed, Gordilla did reveal the future plans for the establishment: Soho Boutique Hotels is going to invest around €2 million immediately in the complete renovation of the facilities, located right on the beachfront and with 107 rooms.

With the management of this hotel, the Malagan group is now the chain with the most hotel establishments in the capital, given that it already operates the Itaca Málaga, Soho Bahía Málaga, which will see its category rise to a four-star property at the beginning of next year, following a €500,000 investment, Soho Los Naranjos, Soho Boutique Málaga and now Soho Las Vegas, encompassing 270 rooms in the city in total.

Antonio Gordillo, partner and director general of the chain, wanted to send a message of calm to the workforce and assure the thirty employees that they are guaranteed the same conditions they have enjoyed until now. “We are a young chain, we started out in 2010, and one of our maxims is that our employees represent one of the company’s greatest assets. We place a lot of emphasis on ensuring our staff are happy and motivated”, he said.

In terms of the new activity for Soho Las Vegas, Gordillo said that all of the furniture, beds and televisions, amongst other items, will be replaced immediately, to adapt them to the needs of guests and the quality standards of the group. In the second phase, they are planning more comprehensive work such as the renovation of bathrooms and the launch of new services. “We are really surprised by how well the facilities have been maintained”, he said.

Soho Hoteles does not rule out incorporating more establishments in the city. The chain is in full swing with its expansion process, with new projects in Madrid and Cádiz. It already has establishments in Sevilla, Córdoba, Jerez, Granada, Fuengirola, Cáceres and Salamanca, taking its total portfolio to fifteen, including the properties in Málaga. “The company’s turnover amounts to €16 million, and in 2018 we expect to double that figure thanks to the new additions, including Soho Las Vegas”, he said, adding that the key to the chain’s success is that all of its establishments are located in the city centre. As such, they register an average annual occupancy rate of 82% and a revenue per available room (RevPar) of €82.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Pilar Martínez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Fedex Opens Large Warehouse In ZAL Port de Barcelona

13 October 2017 – Mis Naves

Fedex is an express parcel delivery service that is most certainly backing the Spanish market. The company has just announced the opening of a large warehouse inside the ZAL Port de Barcelona.

The new facilities span a surface area of almost 17,000 m2 and used to house the Seat vehicle factory. Specifically, the site has a surface area of 16,905 m2, of which 14,505 m2 is used as a warehouse and 2,400 m2 is office space.

These facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including integrated weight and volume recording systems that provide 360º images of all of the faces of the shipped goods, whereby increasing their traceability; they also have a state-of-the-art automated cross belt sorting system (sorter) with the capacity to process up to 10,000 packages per hour, which makes this Fedex’s most technologically advanced centre in Spain.

Fedex’s turnover in Spain now exceeds €90 million, with a workforce of almost 200 workers.

Original story: Mis Naves

Translation: Carmel Drake

Friendly Rentals Acquires Apartments Barcelona

9 October 2017 – Eje Prime

The real estate manager Friendly Rentals has been shopping. The company, owned by the Novasol group since 2016, has absorbed one of its competitors in Cataluña, Apartments Barcelona.

Both companies specialise in the management of tourist rental homes and, according to sources in the sector, the operation will not affect the day to day operations of Apartments Barcelona, which will continue to function as an independent brand, with the same CEO, Eduardo Navarrete, and workforce, according to Expansión. Nevertheless, the union of the company’s offices has not been ruled out.

The company currently owns 370 apartments and expects to generate revenues of €2 million in 2017. Friendly Rentals is led by Pablo Zubicaray, who founded the company thirteen years ago, and invoices more than €10 million per year.

The integration of Apartments Barcelona into the Novasol group will result in an increase in its client base and rental home portfolio in Barcelona, at a time when demand for this type of tourist accommodation is continuing to grow.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hotelbeds Wants To End The Online Agency Duopoly

5 October 2017 – Expansión

The Mallorcan firm Hotelbeds wants to take on the titans of the world of online agencies and break the de facto duopoly, which is effectively dominated by Expedia and Priceline, the parent company of Booking. The company, controlled by the private equity firm Cinven and the fund Canada Pension Plan Investment (CPPI), owns the largest bedbank in the world and after its purchase of Tourico and GTA, is constituting itself as a “clear alternative” to connect hotels and intermediaries, explains Joan Vilà, the Chief Executive of Hotelbeds Group, speaking to Expansión.

“We have undertaken these acquisitions in record time and have almost doubled our size with the purchase of GTA and Tourico. We were already market leaders in terms of our bedbank and our new size puts us in the Champions League of major companies around the world”, says Vilà.

Cinven and CPPI acquired their stakes in the company a year and a half ago, after reaching an agreement with the German group TUI for almost €1,200 million. Since then, the firm has acquired Tourico – based in Orlando and Tel Aviv – and GTA – the commercial name for the Kuoni Group’s travel business, in which the fund EQT owned a stake – for a combined value of €1,300 million.

These acquisitions will allow the group to double in size, with an annual turnover of €7,000 million and a total workforce of 8,300 employees, of which 5,300 belong to the Bedbank division.

For Vilà, the scale of the integrated group will allow the controlled hotels to gain more autonomy. Currently, Hotelbeds works with 100,000 hotels and 64,000 intermediaries (travel agents, tour operators and airlines).

Integration process

Following these operations, the company is now working on its integration plan, which it expects to complete over the next 18 months. “We have decided to use the Hotelbeds platform. Within 18 months we will be working as a single company”.

In terms of strengthening the company’s inorganic growth, Vilà explained that, although he does not rule out making new purchases, the company is focused on the integration process for the time being. The group has not yet decided whether it will work under a single brand. “In the B2B business, the presence of the brand is very important and all three are very well-known”.

In terms of the leadership team, Joan Vilà will continue in his role as the CEO, with Carlos Muñoz as the Director General of Bedbank and responsible for managing the integration of the three businesses, and Andrés García responsible for the financial area of the resulting group. Moreover, Hotelbeds has announced the appointment of José Antonio Tazón as a senior non-executive director on the Board of Directors and as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills & Aguirre Newman Will Sign Their Merger In November

5 September 2017 – Eje Prime

A month after closing the most important corporate transaction in the real estate sector so far this year, the details of Savills Aguirre Newman are starting to be revealed. Sources close to both companies have explained that the merger will be definitively sealed in November, which is also when the organisational chart of the newly created company will be redrawn.

Whilst to date, Savills and Aguirre Newman have continued to operate independently, “they will start to manage their businesses in Spain together from 2018 onwards”, according to both companies. “For the time being, there is a willingness on the part of Savills to buy and on the part of Aguirre Newman to sell, however, the formal signing of the sale and purchase has not been carried out yet”, explain sources at both groups. The formal agreements will be signed in November, at the latest.

Moreover, the new company’s plans include looking for new offices for its teams in Madrid and Barcelona. Whilst sources in the Catalan capital indicate that it is very likely (albeit not definitive) that the Savills employees located there will move to Aguirre Newman’s offices on La Diagonal in Barcelona; in Madrid, it is almost certain that a new office will be leased to house the employees of both companies. “All of the options are being considered, including the existing headquarters of Aguirre Newman and Savills in Madrid and Barcelona”, say sources close to the operation.

Another issue that has been left up in the air with Savills’ purchase of Aguirre Newman is the duplication of the entire workforce of both companies. For the time being, according to the same sources, “Savills’ intention is to hold onto all of the employees, although it is already clear that many of the directors will leave the company voluntarily”.

The Presidents of Aguirre Newman, Santiago Aguirre and Stephen Newman, and the President of Savills España, Rafael Merry del Val, will be appointed to the merged company’s Board of Directors, with the following roles: Santiago Aguirre, President of the Board; Stephen Newman and Rafael Merry del Val, Executive Co-Vice-presidents (…).

At the end of July, Savills and Aguirre Newman announced that the purchase would be carried out for approximately €67 million. With this acquisition, the British company will multiply its size in Spain seven-fold, increasing its workforce from 70 professionals to around 500 (…).

International plans

Another issue on the table is the internationalisation of Aguirre Newman following its purchase by Savills. Until now, the international presence of Aguirre Newman has been sustained thanks to an agreement with the network of consultancy firms GVA. However, that partnership may well be cancelled once the purchase of the Spanish real estate consultancy by the British stalwart has materialised (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Popular Will Open 40 Branches To Sell Its Homes

17 January 2017 – Invertia

Banco Popular has launched a new network of 40 branches, four regional teams and a workforce of 400 people to manage its newly carved out real estate business.

According to a statement made by the entity, 12 of these branches will be located in Cataluña and Levante, 10 in Madrid and the Centro region, 10 in the North and the Pastor region and 8 in Andalucía.

The objective of this network, which will report directly into the General Director of Real Estate Business and Asset Transformation is to manage the bank’s real estate business and to manage collections in a holistic way “with the perspective of optimising capital, in line with the bank’s overall objective to reduce non-productive assets”.

The creation of this network forms part of the restructuring process that the bank is currently carrying out and which has involved the separation of its core and real estate businesses.

Original story: Invertia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Amazon Will Invest €200M In Its New Centre In Barcelona

29 June 2016 – Expansión

Amazon’s new logistics centre in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona) will be ready in the autumn of 2017. Yesterday, the US multinational e-commerce giant completed the acquisition of land covering 150,808 sqm, next to the airport, from the Generalitat for €30 million. It also announced that it will hire 1,500 direct workers between now and 2020.

This represents the largest investment in terms of job creation in Cataluña in the last five years. The project, financed in its entirety by the group, will absorb a budget of more than €200 million, including the cost of the land, according to sources from Amazon.

The e-commerce giant, founded by Jeff Bezos, will construct a logistics platform in El Prat with a surface area covering more than 60,000 sqm, the equivalent of eight football pitches. It will be its second largest warehouse in Spain, after its complex in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid), which it acquired in 2012. That site has a surface area of 28,000 sqm but Amazon is currently working to expand those facilities, which means that the two centres will be around the same size.

Amazon’s Catalan platform will allow the company to cope with its strong growth, satisfy future demand and ensure that its deliveries to clients are fast and reliable. The centre at El Prat will not only supply the Spanish market, it will also handle orders from across Europe, given that the complex will be incorporated into Amazon’s European logistics network, comprising 29 centres located in seven countries and capable of supplying customers with the more than 132 million products available in its online megastore.

Amazon Fulfillment, the group’s logistics company, has hired the construction company Dragados – which forms part of the ACS Group – to carry out the building work, which will start on Friday. The aim is that this centre will be operational by the autumn of 2017 and it will open with an initial workforce of 500 people. That figure will gradually increase over the next three years, to reach 1,500 people by the end of 2020.

Original story: Expansión (by S. Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barceló Buys Spain’s 5th Largest Tour Operator

11 January 2016 – Expansión

The travel division of the Barceló Group has acquired all of the shares in Spain’s fifth largest tour operator, Special Tours, which specialises in tours of Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa and Oceania, as it continues progressing with its plans to internationalise and strengthen its position in Latin America.

The Mallorcan group, which did not disclose any of the financial details of the operation, will incorporate Special Tours’ entire workforce, comprising 300 employees. It will also maintain the company’s current operations, which are headquartered in the Ciudad de la Imagen in Madrid, as well as its management team, led by Carlos Jiménez (pictured above), who will continue to be the CEO of the company after the integration.

The Barceló Group has said that this operation, which is pending approval by the corresponding regulatory bodies, forms part of the company’s commitment to product specialisation and internationalisation and goes some way towards fulfilling its objective of becoming a major player in the Latin market.

In this sense, the Barceló Group said that Special Tours has been operating in every country in the Latin American market, where it plays a very important role, for more than 30 years.

Focus on Latin America

The Corporate Director General of the Barceló Group’s travel division, Alejandro Subías, said that the operation represents a “significant” boost to the firm’s strategic plan and allows it to continue its commitment to consolidating its position in Latin America.

“With the integration of the team led by Carlos Jiménez, we are continuing to grow, complementing and strengthening our current product portfolio, and to offer even more travel options and experiences to our clients, which is the real raison d’être of our group”, added the director.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Fortress Finalises Its Withdrawal From Spain

17 November 2015 – Expansión

Strategy / The US fund will close the sale of Paratus to Elliott and Cabot Financial this week. It will also complete the ERE affecting more than 50% of Lico Leasing’s workforce.

The opportunistic fund Fortress is continuing its withdrawal from the Spanish financial sector. The US investor is finalising the sale of one of its financial businesses in the country, namely, Paratus, a platform that specialises in the management of problematic banking assets, which Fortress has controlled since 2009.

According to several financial sources, the sale of Paratus will be signed this week with the fund Elliott Advisors and the British group Cabot Credit Management Group, owned by JC Flowers and Encore Capital, taking ownership.

Each of the investors will take over a different part of Paratus’ business. Elliott is most interested in the real estate division and in the team. At the beginning of the sales process – known as Project Coast and advised by N+1 – Paratus held loans amounting to €152 million, secured by 866 properties; 500 homes worth just over €100 million; and a team comprising 43 professionals.

Meanwhile, Cabot is interested in acquiring the unsecured loans, which Fortress is selling for €426 million. The British group is looking to build upon its recent entry into the Spanish market, following its purchase of the Gesif platform from Elliott.

In addition to this possible sale, Fortress is also reducing its exposure to the Spanish financial sector by conducting an ERE at Lico Leasing. At the end of 2014, this subsidiary of Fortress had 130 employees. Through the restructuring, the fund has got rid of the commercial divisions of Lico Leasing, its other major financial business in Spain, which it acquired from the savings banks just one year ago; this means that it will no longer capture any new loans.

Complex operation

Fortress will continue to manage Lico Leasing’s existing portfolio and will continue to operate Geslico, its subsidiary that specialises in problem loans. That company recently integrated two of Fortress’s other companies in Spain: Auxiliar de Servicios y Cobros and Gestión de Activos de Aragón.

Fortress’s commitment to Lico Leasing was cut short due to the time required for its approval – almost two years – and by the re-opening of the credit tap by banks following the measures introduced by the ECB.

The US fund will continue with its other activities in Spain, by providing financing to companies and the real estate market.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake