In February, the annual results of the main listed real estate companies in the country were published, including those of the property developers Neinor Homes and Metrovacesa, the groups Insur and Renta, as well as the Socimis Merlin, Lar España and Colonial. In the case of the latter, the company also announced a change in its presidency, which has been held for years by Juan José Bruguera; as of May, Mr Brugera will serve as the non-executive president only, following in the footsteps of other large listed Spanish companies.
In addition, during February, it was revealed that the Supreme Court has authorized the demolition of the constructions carried out in the luxury Isla de Valdecañas complex, in Extremadura. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Ecologists in Action group and ordered the demolition of the tourist complex, which comprises a hotel and various houses in the province of Cáceres.
Companies
The news of the month, and one of the most important announcements of the year, saw Sareb award its Esparta contract to Altamira/Anticipa and Hipoges. The servicers owned by Blackstone and KKR, respectively, will manage assets destined for sale worth around 25.3 billion euros. Notably, none of the previous servicers who have worked for Sareb since its creation will be continuing in their role.
Also in the servicing sector, the bondholders of Haya Real Estate reached an agreement with Cerberus to acquire a stake in the share capital of the company. In this way, the servicer has managed to postpone the repayment of its debt until 2026 and, in exchange, the bondholders have taken control of 27.5% of the capital. Haya had been weighed down by debt with a significant amount due to be repaid in November of this year.
The real estate division of the investment fund manager Arcano Partners announced that it is finalizing the launch of its third value-add fund. The new Arcano investment vehicle will be larger than the two previous funds launched by the manager.
Meanwhile, the auction of a lot of hotels, office buildings and land by Reyal Urbis was unsuccessful. The bankruptcy administrator put the lot on the market for 220 million euros. Cerberus, Apollo and La Finca were reported to be the most interested in acquiring the assets of the company that has filed for liquidation, but in the end, no bids were made.
El Corte Inglés is preparing the sale of several real estate assets. The company chaired by Marta Álvarez expects to receive 800 million euros from the sales that it has commissioned to various consultancy firms.
Residential
Last month, large investors continued to be active in the residential sector, in both the land and projects for rent (build to rent) segments. In this way, Azora bought 250 build-to-rent homes in Valdemoro (Madrid). The seller, Emerige, had previously acquired a 20,000 m2 plot of land on which it is developing the residential complex. The urbanization will have a swimming pool, paddle court and coworking space.
Meanwhile, Grupo Lar and Primonial are negotiating the purchase of land and developments for 400 new homes. The real estate company owned by the Pereda family is working together with the French fund to create a build-to-rent platform for its 5,000 units. In the same vein, Aedas Homes is pushing ahead with the sale of various new build-to-rent developments to international funds. Having detected significant investor appetite, the listed company is now negotiating the promotion of new turnkey build-to-rent developments.
Also in February, it was announced that the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore and Azora are going to invest 1.5 billion euros in the creation of a platform for 8,000 build-to-rent homes. Brisa, the new platform, will comprise a portfolio of properties located in some of Spain’s major cities.
In addition, Primevest Capital Partners assured in an interview with Brainsre.news that it plans to invest a total of 200 million euros in 10 build-to-rent projects in Spain by 2025. The German company, which acquired its first project in the country at the end of January, is on the verge of completing another operation in the Community of Valencia.
On the other hand, Blackstone is negotiating the transfer of thousands of homes to the Spanish State for its public stock. The US investment fund is holding negotiations with the State, along with several other funds, regarding the transfer of 30,000 properties.
In addition, Quantum bought land in Valdemarín (Madrid) from the Capriles family for the development of 19 luxury villas. These single-family homes will cost more than 1.8 million euros and will span more than 300 m2 each.
Finally, the family of Emma Villacieros sold the property on Calle O’Donnell 5, in Madrid. The company Mandapa Investments closed the purchase of that residential building for 25 million euros. The family of the former president of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation sold the asset for a record price of 8,400 euros per m2.
Offices
In February, Meridia completed the purchase of an office complex in Madrid. The manager acquired a building for 12 million euros and will invest another 40 million euros in its renovation and repositioning. The complex, which it bought from a family office, spans around 20,200 m2 and is located at number 22 Calle Julián Camarillo, in the Simancas neighbourhood.
Alting also bought an office building in Madrid. The investment company completed the acquisition of a property on Calle de Fuencarral for 18 million euros. That complex spans 3,200 m2, spread over five office floors, one commercial space and various parking spaces.
Meanwhile, Árima acquired another building on Calle Pradillo in Madrid. It now owns three adjacent properties on the street, specifically numbers 54, 56 and 58, which together span a gross leasable area of 11,925 square meters and for which the Socimi has paid 21.65 million euros.
Hotels
During the month, Banco Santander put up for sale a portfolio of seven coastal hotels, proceeding from foreclosures due to non-payment. In total, the properties contain 450 rooms and the financial entity expects to recover between 50 and 60 million euros, as reported exclusively by Brainsre.news.
Likewise, Santander and Signal closed the acquisition of the luxury Hotel Sheraton La Caleta in Tenerife. The complex, bought from the Disa Group for around 80 million euros, has 284 rooms and is managed by Marriott.
The international fund Arlaes Management bought the Hard Rock Hotel Madrid from ASG for 65 million euros. The hotel complex, which has been recently renovated, spans almost 12,600 m2 and has 161 rooms.
For its part, the German manager Union Investment closed the acquisition of the Hotel Barcelona 1882 from the Swiss investor Partners Group for 75 million euros. The hotel establishment has 182 beds and is located on Calle Córcega in the Catalan capital.
Mutualidad de la Abogacía sold three holiday hotels to Plusell Blis for 62.5 million euros. The sale of the properties, which are all located in Andalucía, generated a capital gain of four million euros for the insurance company.
Industrial & Logistics
Savills Investment Management bought three last-mile warehouses leased to Amazon for 95 million euros. The assets, acquired from Roebuck Asset Management and GFH, span 140,000 m2 in total and are located in Murcia, Alicante and Valladolid.
In addition, the Logicor group, owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore and Blackstone, sold a logistics portfolio to EQT Exeter. The buyer paid around 300 million euros for four logistics centers which together span around 300,000 m2.
Newdock, the logistics company owned by Goldman Sachs, reinforced its logistics commitment with the purchase of eight plots of land in the Los Ahijones area of Madrid. The company led by Fátima Sáez del Cano bought a total surface area of 175,000 m2 from the Los Ahijones Compensation Board for around 40 million euros.
Land
Momentum Reim abandoned its purchase of land in Valdebebas. The property developer, which was looking to fulfil an order on behalf of a large fund, and the Compensation Board had reached an agreement, but the buyer failed to turn up at the notary’s office. Momentum had planned to pay 21.8 million euros for the land where it had intended to develop a complex of serviced apartments.
Halls of residence
The owners of the Resa student residence platform, namely AXA, CBRE IM and Greystar, put said platform up for sale for between 800 and 900 million euros. In total, the portfolio of residences comprises 42 assets and more than 11,500 beds.
Appointments
In terms of new appointments and promotions, February witnessed some significant changes. In the world of consulting, highlights included the signing of Rafael Bou by CBRE and the incorporation of Javier Duro as Director of Capital Markets at Colliers.
Meanwhile, Credit Suisse appointed Javier Hinojosa as Vice-President of its Real Estate department from his existing role as an associate of the real estate crowdfunding company Urbanitae.
Elix and Panattoni announced the appointments of Arturo Díaz and Gustavo de Lío, respectively, and Clickalia hired ex-EY Javier Catón to lead its financial department. For its part, the law firm Ramón y Cajal appointed Miguel Ferre as the new partner in charge of its Real Estate department.
The KanAm investment group opened an office in Madrid and put Jorge Regúlez in charge as Head of Southern Europe; whilst among the servicers, Altamira, from the doValue group, incorporated Carlos Valencia and Conrado Caviró, from Servihabitat and Hipoges, respectively, to strengthen its Investor Relations and Big Data teams. Also, Haya appointed Javier Moreno as Director of Transformation and Organization.
Finally, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Spain incorporated the leaders of various large companies in the sector, such as Merlin, Metrovacesa, Azora, Aedas, Newdock and CBRE, amongst others, into its executive council in Madrid, which is led by Alberto Valls.
Read the original article in Spanish.
