Encore+, the open-ended Continental European real estate fund, has acquired a portfolio of three freehold assets in Madrid on a sale and leaseback-basis. These are occupied by cash-and-carry operator Makro on a 15-year firm lease.

Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners today announced that the firm, through its European Hospitality Fund I managed by GCP Hospitality, acquired a 50% stake in Spain’s leading boutique hotel brand, Hospes Hotel Group, of which its total asset is valued at €125 million, forming a joint venture with the Spanish investment company, Omega Capital.

Merlin Properties has bought the Almada shopping centre, the last asset in Blackstone’s Rio Tejo retail portfolio, for €406.7m. The shopping centre, which has gross leasable area of around 82,000sqm, is almost fully let at 98% occupancy.

The Spanish Atom Hoteles Socimi, on behalf of its parent company, Bankinter, has acquired a portfolio of three hotels from Meliá Hotels International for €73.4 million (€66,000 per room).

Union Investment has sold the Portico office building in eastern Madrid to a fund managed by a French real estate investor. Comprising some 21,000m² of space, the property was constructed in 2005 and includes 413 parking spaces.

Hines, the international real estate firm, on behalf of the Hines European Value Fund (HEVF), has completed the acquisition of the SPV that owns Avenida Diagonal 177-183 or “Mediacomplex,”—an iconic office and television production complex in Barcelona, from a partnership between Rilson Inmuebles S.L. and Barcelona de Infraestructures Municipals, S.A.

Vukile , the JSE-listed property fund, is set to double its retail property investments in Spain after agreeing to acquire a portfolio of four shopping centres for 460million (R7.1billion). The company described the transaction as transformative and accretive, adding that it would boost its offshore exposure to above 40 percent.

Spanish REIT, LAR España Real Estate SOCIMI S.A. (LRE), has announced the sale of its logistics portfolio for €119.7M, marking a significant milestone in its asset rotation strategy and achieving an 83% value uplift compared to its original purchase price of €65.6 million.

Spanish property group Metrovacesa has partnered with Tishman Speyer to develop a €87.6m project in Madrid known as Monteburgos Project. Metrovacesa said it will hold a 24% stake in the project, with the US investment manager, which comprises of 56,652sqm of land.

The development financing of a shopping scheme in the country demonstrates banks’ returning appetite for real estate debt. There are signs Spain’s banks are prepared to finance commercial real estate activity that had been considered off-limits after the global financial crisis.

Investors are moving up the risk curve to take on more value-added exposure. But some argue that this is mitigating risk instead.

Blackstone Group LP is seeking to become the largest hotel owner in Spain and double down on its multibillion-dollar bet on the country’s robust economic recovery and booming tourism industry.

Carmila is expanding its presence in Spain with the acquisition of six shopping centres from the Pradera European Retail Fund. All the shopping centres are adjacent to a powerful Carrefour hypermarket and are either leaders or co-leaders in their catchment area.

UBS Real Estate GmbH has acquired the Titán 8 office asset in Madrid, Spain on behalf of the UBS (D) Euroinvest Immobilien fund. This transaction represents Euroinvest’s debut investment since the fund’s recent strategic relaunch. 

Lar España Real Estate Socimi S.A. (LRE), the listed real estate investment company, has acquired the Rivas Futura retail park in Madrid for EUR 62 million. Hence, it becomes the socimi's first large retail asset in Madrid and it reinforces Lar España’s retail portfolio.

Klépierre, the leading European shopping center platform, signed an agreement for the disposal of two retail malls for a total consideration of €212.2 million (including transfer duties) to Carmila. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the Q1 this year. 

Ares Management and Redevco’s Iberian joint venture has acquired a majority stake in Parque Corredor shopping centre in the capital of Spain for €140m. Redevco Iberian Ventures said it has bought more than 70% of the gross leasable area in the Parque Corredor shopping centre in Madrid.

Union Investment has acquired a high street property from Thor Equities comprising some 1,320 sq m of rental space in one of Madrid’s main shopping streets. Built in 1900, the five-storey building at Calle de Fuencarral 16 was completely refurbished in 2017. The long-term tenant occupying the entire property is the H&M Group.