Resolution Property has returned to the Spanish real estate market through a €100m joint venture targeting the residential and hotel sectors.

The UK-based investor is forming a joint venture with a private investment partner to manage a €50m portfolio of 15 value-add assets in Marbella’s Golden Mile.

A Q&A guide to corporate real estate law in Spain.

The Q&A gives a high level overview of the corporate real estate market ; real estate investment structures, including REITs; title; tenure; sale of real estate; seller's liability; due diligence; warranties; real estate tax and mitigation, including VAT and stamp duty/transfer tax; climate change targets; restrictions on foreign ownership; real estate finance; commercial leases; and planning law.

The most important real estate fair in the world, MIPIM 2016, is the best showcase for the projects of which the Spanish market recovery is taking advantage.  After a historic year for real estate investment in Spain, the trust and favorable economic outlook have transformed Spain into a market of opportunities where international investors seek assets in order to invest eight billion euros.

Once more, the Palais des Festivals de Cannes in France will host from March 15-18 the largest real estate fair in the world, MIPIM 2016.  For four days, the 19,000 square meters of exhibition space, will be a forum for the more than 21,400 professionals coming from 89 counties with all types of real estate projects in search of opportunities.  Around 2400 companies and 4800 investors will be present in Cannes at what is a major international event to do real estate business .

The amount spent by Spanish households on groceries and household goods grew by the most since 2008 last year, taking the total to 71 billion euros ($79 billion) according to data compiled by Nielsen. The company cited faster job creation, improving consumer confidence, lower oil prices and falling mortgage rates for the increase. Initially led by exports, Spanish consumers are now the major driving force behind the nation’s recovery.

Europa Capital is looking to raise €750m for what will be the manager’s largest fund to date.

The investment manager will put a hard cap of €1bn on its Europa Fund V vehicle.

San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System is looking to commit $20m (€18.1m) to the value-add fund, according to a board meeting document.

Lar Espana Real Estate Socimi S.A. acquired a 123,000 sqm plot of land in Seville, on which it will construct and develop a retail and leisure complex. The total investment (purchase of land and construction) stands at €145 million, of which €36 million relates to the purchase of the plot of land. Construction works are scheduled to complete by the end of 2018. 

Invesco Real Estate (IRE) and Thor Equities have commenced leasing 11 Puerta del Sol in Madrid, having completing the joint acquisition of the high street corner retail asset, for circa EUR65 million.

The 1,144 sq m (circa 12,300 sq ft) property enjoys a prime location between Plaza Mayor and Gran Via, two of Madrid’s main retail and leisure destinations that attract both locals and international tourists.

AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets has raised €500m for a pan-European, open-ended real estate fund.

The AXA CoRE Europe fund, with an initial €700m investment capacity, will focus on core European real estate assets.

A mix of new and existing institutional clients from Europe and Asia made commitments to the fund.

The investment manager said the fund had an ultimate €3bn-5bn target size.

Emilio Gómez Delgado, partner Real Estate Hogan Lovells Madrid, analyses the key star of the real estate sector: SOCIMIS, the Spanish REITS.

The Carrefour Group has signed an agreement with the Eroski Group to acquire 36 compact hypermarkets with a total sales area of 235,000 square meters, as well as 8 shopping malls and 22 gas stations adjacent to the stores. The price is thought to be €205 million.

Portuguese firm Sodim SGPS SA has sold the five-star, 150-bedroom Hotel Villa Magna, Madrid, Spain, to Turkish Dogus Group. The price is thought to be €180 million.

The Villa Magna is one of the most luxurious hotels in Spain located on Madrid's prime commercial thoroughfare Paseo de la Castellana. The hotel's outstanding location provides excellent accessibility to business and financial districts as well as tourism spots.

Due to a growth in private consumption, supply chain consolidation and an increase in the scale of logistics operations, 2015 produced the highest logistics take up on record in the EMEA region. This is despite a quiet fourth quarter due to muted activity, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). A number of key cities reported year-on-year growth, though, including London, Paris, Antwerp, Madrid and Berlin. 

The number of home foreclosures in Spain fell last year to the lowest level since 2008 as the economy expanded at the fastest pace since the European debt crisis. Home repossessions became a symbol of the collapse of the housing bonanza that swept the nation fueled by cheap credit.

Billionaire Carlos Slim made a bid for Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas SA, culminating a series of investments that began in 2014 to shore up one of Spain’s biggest builders.

Slim’s Inversora Carso offered 7.6 euros a share after crossing a 30 percent threshold that triggered a bid for the whole company. The price is a 15 percent premium to FCC’s stock at the close in Madrid Friday and values the company at 2.88 billion euros ($3.17 billion).

Chinese investment into European commercial real estate reached €8.5bn last year, a 22% increase on 2014, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Despite increased domestic volatility and slowing economic growth, Chinese investors have taken a broader approach and been active in a wider range of property types and geographies, it said.

European hotel transaction volume totalled €23.7 billion in 2015, a record level and an increase of 66% on the previous year, according to our annual European Hotel Transactions report.
 
The year outperformed pre-downturn levels driven by an extremely active portfolio transactions market. Investors from Europe accounted for €10.9 billion worth of transactions with activity from the Middle East up 140% to €4.4 billion, and that from North America up 46% to €5.5 billion.

The Preqin Investor Outlook: Alternative Assets, H1 2016 finds that investors are mixed in their attitudes to the alternative assets industry. The majority (65 per cent) of investors holds a positive general perception of private equity, and only 6 per cent have a negative perception.

• The highest returns in 2016 will be from property investments in Spain
• The highest private equity style returns in Europe will be generated from residential development in Spain
• The most positive outlook for growth in retail sales/rents is in Spain

The Spanish economy is currently displaying stronger growth than most of its peers in Western Europe. The country has left the doldrums of its post-2008 economic misery, and its property sector has kept pace with the more general recovery. International core investors are once again turning their attention to Iberia.

Liquid alternatives in a UCITS format are attracting interest from a wider range of investors, including insurers and pension funds, as a way to meet the transparency edicts of Solvency ll.

Cerulli Associates' report entitled European Alternative Products and Strategies 2016: Opportunity Knocks in the New Era finds that institutional investors are turning to retail-style alternative products as a cost-effective means to address regulatory pressure and to bridge the yield gap created by low-performing debt holdings.