Real estate in 2019: Here are the main operations of the year

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

One more year, the real estate sector says goodbye in style.

Many have been the operations that have made headlines and have marked the agenda of the sector today. From the main socimis, such as Merlin or Colonial, to other international actors such as Amazon. National giants like El Corte Inglés or Telefónica have also carried out operations with their properties. Personalities of the sector, such as Amancio Ortega through Pontegadea, or Trinitario Casanovas, have also contributed their grain of sand to culminate a most profitable exercise for the Spanish real estate, and special mention to the retail business, both for rent as in investment, which has once again demonstrated its power in the country.

Merlin continues to position itself as one of the main real estate groups in the country. And to maintain its status, it has signed some of the operations with the most impact of the year. The company, as announced by idealista / news, has decided to give a face lift to one of the trophy assets it has in the capital and execute a remodeling plan for the building it owns in Callao and which is currently the main Fnac store in Spain. The socimi will invest 20 million euros and a complete redistribution of the building is contemplated. Of the 11,600 m2, a new 1,200 m2 store and a gastronomic space in the attic will be distributed in the Fnac store.

In Barcelona the group will also transform part of its most precious asset in the city: Glòries Tower. After the rumor that Merlin was studying its sale (here three reasons why he would not do so at the moment) the socimi, led by Ismael Clemente, will turn the last floor of Torre Glòries into a tourist attraction and a lookout point. To carry it out, Merlin has sealed an alliance with the Mediapro group, which will be in charge of the visual content that will be screened during the entire visit to the viewpoint.

In addition, the socimi dismissed the year in style after entering the capital of the Castellana Norte District at the end of October, buying 14.5% of the participation that Grupo San José has in that promoter. He paid 168.89 million euros for that package. Following Merlin's entry, DCN's capital is further conformed with 75.5% of BBVA and 10% of San José.

The logistics business has also continued to heat the sector in the last twelve months. As expected, as an investment and operations, this year these operations have had as an common denominator an actor, and that has been Amazon. The ecommerce giant sold its most robotic logistics center in Spain to Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). This operation was part of the sale of other warehouses in Paris and London for a total of 400 million euros. The American company has remained as a tenant in this warehouse that it built in 2015 after buying the land from the Generalitat of Catalonia for about 30 million euros.

In addition, it has also been the protagonist of other operations without being part of them, only for the interest that the operator arouses when he is a tenant of an asset: Nuveen Real Estate (formerly TH Real Estate) bought last September the logistics ship that Amazon occupies in Bilbao for about 17 million euros, as we advance in idealist / news.

Colonial has also starred in one of the logistics operations of the year, but in this case for a divestment and not a purchase. The socimi sold the portfolio of logistics assets that it inherited after the purchase of Axiare for 425 million euros. The buyer, Prologis, acquired eleven properties totaling 314,000 m2 and distributed between Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Guadalajara, Tarragona and Seville.

And in the final stretch of the year the German company Patrizia has closed the purchase of a pan-European logistics portfolio worth 1,200 million euros from BentallGreenOak, which includes 42 assets distributed in four countries with around 1.5 million m2 of buildable m2 . The properties are divided between France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. And in our country there are a total of 11 assets spread over Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Bilbao. In this case, these are 'turnkey' projects, that is, projects that involve the total construction of the ship.

Operations between giants

The real estate has also had large Spanish companies this year among its leading actors, such as El Corte Inglés. The department store giant announced in March that it initiated its largest divestment plan with the sale of 95 real estate assets in order to reduce its debt. The portfolio included fourteen commercial and office buildings, sixteen plots and another 65 assets, such as small stores and stores, warehouses and parking lots.

Another Spanish giant, in this case of telecommunications, has also disinvested in brick in 2019. Telefónica sold the Philippine tycoon Andrew L. Tan, through its wine group Emperor, specialized in brandy, its headquarters in Catalonia for 150 million euros . The Filipino investor also owns Torre Espacio in Madrid.

Telefonica has also sold its historic headquarters in the center of the Catalan capital this year after an auction process. The listed company has placed the asset, located between Fontanella and Portal de l'Àngel streets, for a price close to 100 million euros. Before the end of the year, the company continued with its real estate divestment strategy throughout Spain, auctioning its headquarters in Malaga for about 15 million euros.

Own names

In addition to the operations between large groups, the proper names have also marked the year, and not only in terms of managerial movements. As usual year after year, one of the most repeated has been that of Amancio Ortega. Through his real estate vehicle Pontegadea, the richest man in Spain bought part of the headquarters of the e-commerce giant Amazon in Seattle in March for about 655 million euros (740 million dollars).

Before the end of the year, Ortega struck again on the table with the purchase for 700 million euros of a property near Oxford Street, in London, where the headquarters of the consultant McKinsey is located and the acquisition from the headquarters of Facebook in Seattle (USA).

Trinitario Casanova is another of the big names of the real estate sector and that although it has been the protagonist of the sector this year for its litigation with Riu and the Spain Building, it has also been for some corporate operations. The Murcian businessman bought the old Ideal Cinema in Alicante for 6 million euros, as the businessman explained to idealist / news. With an investment of between 8 million euros and 10 million euros, Baraka gave NH Hoteles the management of the hotel that will be launched in the building.

And from the names of the real estate sector to other personalities who invest in this business without being part of it. This is the case of the Barcelona Football Club player Gerard Piqué, who closed in April the purchase of a residential building in the heart of Barcelona at the Spanish-Swiss Stoneweg fund for almost 15 million euros.

More actors, more operations

The equity company Renta Corporación has also had an active exercise in real estate operations. Last June Renta constituted the company Linwork Properties, a newly created socimi specialized in logistics and offices that Renta announced that it would promote this year. This investment vehicle, which is added to its Vivenio residential socimi, will have an investment capacity of up to 1,000 million euros.

In addition, before the end of the year Renta carried out the purchase of an emblematic asset in Barcelona. The company led by David Vila, was made with the La Campana building, headquarters of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) and the Mercantile Registry of the Catalan capital for 22 million euros, as advanced idealist / news.

As for the residential business, there have been many movements in terms of new promotions, land purchases or alliances between actors in the sector. Among the last signed, the one signed by the cooperative manager Ibosa stands out. In November, the company sealed the purchase of the last land for the sale of Operation New Mahou-Calderón for about 70 million euros, as idealist / news advanced. The novelty in this transaction is that it allied with the US fund Greenoak to buy this land from Mahou, an operation that added to the acquisition of another plot in this same area and to the same seller.

Investment and rentals: ‘retail’ remains frantic

Because of its dynamism, retail continues to be one of the main actors in the real estate business. In the last twelve months there have been movements in the main shopping streets of Madrid and Barcelona, ​​but also on the outskirts of these cities, with the opening of new shopping centers that have revolutionized the model.

In Madrid, streets like Gran Vía have had a great prominence with the entry of Ray-Ban, owned by the group specialized in optics Luxottica, at the bottom of the number 42 of this commercial street or the Allianz movement on this road, closing the rental of the 'macrotienda' that is located in the basement of its building of number 39 with the group specialized in the distribution of perfumery and cosmetics Primor, as advanced idealista / news. This place has an area of ​​1,500 m2 and is located in one of the best sections of the road.

Serrano has also continued to make headlines. Bankia closed one of the most important retail operations of the year in Madrid's high street with the sale of an office in Madrid's Serrano street for an amount that exceeds 59 million euros.

For its part, the real estate arm of Mutua Madrileña closed an agreement with the luxury firm Loewe to expand its premises of 34 Serrano Street by more than 300 m2. The place was so far occupied by the luxury firm Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), which will move to another nearby establishment.

Barcelona has also become a battleground for fashion and technology operators, who struggle to get the best stores in their streets and shopping centers. The most important retail operation of the year in the Catalan capital has been the reform to which the 'flagship' of Zara in Paseo de Gracia has been submitted, extending it to 4,000 m2, and its subsequent movement with the closing of the rental of the premises adjoining, historically occupied by the multibrand male Furest, and provide your store with more storefront and add 600 m2 more to your premises, as advanced idealist / news.

More operations such as the agreement between Parje and H&M to rent the number 33 of Paseo de Gracia and open the first store of its Weekday chain in Spain; Tous rental of number 15 of Portal de l'Àngel, the most expensive street in Spain to open a commercial premises, to launch a new store in the center of Barcelona or the opening of the first Aliexpress stores in the capital Catalan at the Finestrelles shopping center, in addition to Madrid, at the Xanadú shopping center, they close a very active exercise for retail.

As for shopping centers, 2019 leaves large openings in Madrid as X-Madrid, the Merlin Properties project that opened its doors to the public the last month of the year after two years of work and investing 35 million euros and Open Sky, a complex which is defined as "a center of life" and which opened last October in Torrejón de Ardoz.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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