Several important operations at the business level and many other operations were recorded in Spain during the final month of the year. Meanwhile, two Spanish companies started trading on the stock market; another rescinded its Socimi status; several residential land deals were unblocked in a number of autonomous regions; and the airport manager Aena launched a mega-contest to operate the almost 90 duty-free stores across its network of 27 airports.
Notable operations during the last month of the year?
• In the residential segment, AQ Acentor invested 240 million euros in a residential project in Viladecans (Barcelona).
• In the office segment, we saw the acquisition of the Novartis headquarters in Barcelona by Freo and BC Partners.
• In the hotel segment, Arcano announced the purchase of an industrial building to develop the first Meininger hotel in Spain.
• In the logistics segment, Sagax sold 36 properties to Transgourmet in exchange for 180 million euros and a 9% premium.
• In the commercial segment, the largest transaction was carried out by Generali, which acquired the retail building located at number 40 Portal del Ángel in Barcelona for 105 million euros.
Companies
In December, there were multiple business developments. Urbas made its debut on the Ibex Small Cap market with the aim of listing on the Ibex 35 in 2025; Emperador Properties rang the bell on the BME Growth market with an initial value of 429 million euros, equivalent to a price of 4.20 euros per share; and General de Galerías Comerciales rescinded its Socimi status to begin allocating its profits to investments. Also, Starwood announced that it is following in Blackstone’s footsteps by cutting redemptions on its real estate mutual fund.
In other news, Intrum bought the remaining 20% stake in Solvia from Banco Sabadell – the servicer will continue to be the reference operator for the company listed on the Nasdaq in Stockholm. Sareb completed the purchase of 10% of the property developer Árqura from Värde. Both companies have already reached an agreement in principle that may have been closed before the end of the year and that includes an option to purchase Aelca. Brickbro was also in the news: the Catalan firm is going to market part of RetailCo’s asset portfolio exclusively.
In terms of projects that have been postponed due to the rise in interest rates, the about-turn by the European real estate company Vonovia stands out; it has opted to delay its entry into Spain.
In the residential segment, Asprima and Coword joined forces to promote the development of alternative living, including: coliving, cohousing, cosenior housing, student residences and flexible living in different institutional, academic, informative and cultural spaces.
Residential
In the Spanish real estate sector, AQ Acentor invested 240 million euros in a residential project in Viladecans (Barcelona); the Cosentino family announced that it is going to build homes in Mojácar with an investment of more than 200 million euros; Higuerón Real Estate allocated 80 million euros to build 164 homes on the Costa del Sol; Kronos Homes announced that it will invest 40 million euros in the construction of another 143 units in Carabanchel; and Neinor Homes disbursed 32 million euros in a new project in Córdoba.
Land purchases? Aedas Homes acquired a plot in Zaragoza to develop 339 homes; RTV Grupo Inmobiliario bought three plots in Barcelona and Ibiza in which it will invest 68 million euros; and the German company Rockstone acquired number 42 Calle Santa Engracia (Madrid).
Outside of Spain, the businessman Amancio Ortega bought a luxurious apartment building in Seattle for 305 million euros.
In addition, Aedas Homes announced the launch of 78 one-million-euro single-family homes in Boadilla and the presentation of a residential project to provide Nova Lloreda (Badalona) with a municipal public library; and the Andalucían firm Exxacon made its debut in the Spanish capital with a 78-home project located in Colmenar Viejo.
Developments in new ways of living? Greystar launched its first Be Casa with 847 flexible homes in Rivas (Madrid); Líbere Hospitality added its sixth asset in Andalucía and will operate a second building in Córdoba; and Urban Campus announced that it will operate the three buildings purchased by Batipart from the Socimi Galil in Madrid and Barcelona. Meanwhile, the proptech Ukio announced that it will raise 27 million euros in financing to double its volume in Spain and grow in Europe.
And the latest developments in terms of land? On the penultimate day of the year, Los Berrocales received the final go-ahead from Madrid City Council, which means that the developers can now start construction of the various projects. Also this month, in Andalucía, Sevilla gave the green light to the urbanization project of the La Trinidad Glass Factory and Jerez granted the building permit to start work on 116 new homes in the Williams Plaza Residential Complex. Finally, in the Community of Valencia, the Atarazanas-Grao (Valencia) project was unblocked, where the homes will be built by Árqura and managed by Aelca.
Metrovacesa, for its part, clinged on to its land purchases and hopes to deliver 2,000 homes over the next two years. In Málaga, the firm has just completed the structure of the Torre Living and has started work on the Torre Visión (part of the Málaga Towers project, which amounts to more than 148.7 million euros in total). And in Barakaldo, it has just started work on 121 units, with an investment of 32.6 million euros.
In terms of future projects, Taylor Wimpey stands out with its plans to add another nine promotions in 2023 with an investment of 80 million euros, concentrating on three areas: the Costa del Sol, the Balearic Islands and the Costa Blanca. Meanwhile, Inbisa is going to build 125 homes with 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms in Pinar de Jalón (Valladolid).
Offices
Highlights in the office segment included the purchase by Freo and BC Partners of the Novartis headquarters in Barcelona; the purchase by Amundi of the new L’Oreal headquarters at 546 Calle Alcalá (Madbit in Madrid); and the sale by Patrizia of the McCann headquarters in the 22@ district of Barcelona to the French fund Perial AM. In addition, the country El Salvador acquired a property for 1.75 million euros to house its new consulate in Madrid.
In terms of upcoming openings, First Workplaces is continuing its expansion in Madrid with the opening of its fourth centre next to the Bernabéu; DNEG made its debut in Spain with the opening of its new animation studios in Barcelona’s 22@ district. In addition, the AEO awarded Astara for its Best Office Implementation – the project was managed by the consulting firm Steelcase.
New leases? Plain Concepts moved to Madrid’s Torre Picasso (Pontegadea) in Azca (Madrid); and Fundació Carulla completed the transfer of its headquarters to a 1,200 square metre office in the heart of 22@ in Barcelona.
Hotels
In December, more than four hotels were sold. In Barcelona, Arcano bought an industrial building to convert it into the first Meininger hotel in Spain; in Salou (Tarragona), PortAventura acquired a four-star hotel; and in Marbella, Ilanga Investments purchased the iconic Incosol resort to convert it into the new Wellness & Clinic Resort.
In addition, Meliá and Rafa Nadal announced the creation of the ZEL chain, which aspires to have 20 hotels within five years. The new brand of vacation and urban leisure hotels will start operating in the summer of 2023.
Future hotels? Momentum started work on the Hotel Node Carabanchel during the month.
Industrial & logistics
The most significant operation in the logistics segment in December was Sagax’s sale of 36 properties to Transgourmet in exchange for 180 million euros and a 9% premium. In terms of land, Clarion purchased a plot to develop the Valls Logistics Park in Tarragona; Ikea acquired a plot in the Antequera Business Park to build a logistics centre; Panattoni bought land to build a second logistics park in Illescas (Toledo); and in the Balearic Islands, the regional government bought a plot of land in Felanitx to build warehouses at an affordable price.
Future projects? In the Valencian capital, Nederval announced that it will develop a turnkey logistics asset for Paack; in Alicante, Magnum Heating Spain is going to build a new logistics centre; in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), Iberdrola Inmobiliaria started work on a logistics platform; in Burgos, Panattoni received the building permit to construct its logistics platform; and in Vitoria, the conversion of the Cegasa plant into a logistics park was announced.
And in terms of new leases, VGP announced that it has leased the entirety of the VGP Park Sevilla Dos Hermanas.
Retail
In the retail segment, highlights included Generali’s purchase of the building at number 40 Portal del Ángel in Barcelona for 105 million euros; Aena’s launch of a mega-contest to operate the 86 duty-free stores across its network of 27 airports; and the 16.7 million euro investment by Castellana Properties to renovate the Vallsur shopping centre in Valladolid. In addition, it should be noted that AmRest sold all its KFC restaurants in Russia for 100 million euros.
New openings in commercial spaces? Scalpers is going to open a new store at number 594 Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona.
Read the original article in Spanish.
