Partners Group completes its first Spanish property purchase.

Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager, with €73 billion in assets under management, has closed the largest property deal so far in 2019.

The firm is known in Spain for being a key shareholder of jewelry company Tous and also Spanish software company Softonic. Last year, the private equity fund increased its Spanish presence via the acquisition of the Alantra PEF II fund, thus becoming the leading shareholder of companies like MBA, Grupo Secuoya and Grupo Saltó.

The portfolio includes 18 assets (mainly offices) with a total GLA of ​​91,000m² which formed the bulk of the Meridia 2 fund. According to La Vanguardia, the property management will continue to be carried out by Meridia, the vendor. One of the most outstanding properties in the portfolio is Barcelona’s Torre Meridian on Avenida Rio de Janeiro as well as the Med l and Med II buildings on the Garcia Faria promenade and on Calle Josep Ferrater i Mora. The portfolio also includes an office building in Madrid, on Calle Santa Leonor, which is leased to Suez as well as an asset on Calle Alcalá.

The vendor, Meridia Capital Partners SGEIC, S.A. is an independent investment group with assets under management of c. €1 billion (including debt) and regulated by the Spanish Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Towards the end of 2018, Meridia sold Nestle’s HQ in Barcelona – a complex, which fetched €87 million and is comprised of five office buildings with a GLA of 27.607m².

Meridia Capital’s real estate practice is comprised of a team of sector specialists based in both Barcelona and Madrid and led by Juan Barba who has previously been head of transactions at SAREB, principal at Doughty Hanson and general manager at Aareal Bank AG.

Fetching approximately €215 million, the transaction is the largest so far in the year.