The most important office investment transactions in recent weeks

Inditex invests €238 million for a new office building in Arteixo

The Spanish multinational announced an investment worth 238 million euros for a new building spanning 170,000 sq m. It will be the base for Zara’s commercial and design teams at its headquarters in Arteixo, Galicia. 

The new offices comprise five storeys plus two floors for parking and “have been designed to enhance the dynamics of horizontal work between designers, pattern makers and commercial professionals,” explained the company.

Construction works are expected to begin this month and to take around two years. The building has been designed by the Batlleroig architecture studio, which was also responsible for the recent expansion of the company’s facilities in A Coruña, Galicia, as well as several of its brands’ headquarters.

Mutualidad de Abogacía Sells an Office Building in Madrid to Millenium

The Spanish REIT Millenium Hospitality Real Estate has completed the acquisition of an office building in the centre of Madrid owned by the Mutualidad de Abogacía.

The transaction was closed for 37.75 million euros which meant a capital gain of 14.96 million euros for the Mutualidad who bought the building in 2009. The asset is located on Alcala number 26 and comprises 5,343 sq m distributed in two basements, six floors, an attic and 14 parking spaces in an adjoining community parking.

The director of real estate investments in the Mutualidad explains that they continue to search for opportunities through their strategy of rotation of assets within their portfolio. 

Jaba Acquires an Office Building in Madrid

Jaba I Inversiones Inmobiliarias, a Spanish REIT, has acquired an office building in the district of San Blas Canillejas in Madrid. This was a sale and leaseback operation with a technology company for a value of 6 million euros. 20% of the acquisition was financed by Jaba itself, but the remaining 80% was financed with the help of a Santander Bank mortgage loan. 

The property located on Julián Camarillo number 29 was built in 1992 but was recently refurbished. The asset comprises 2,550 sq m distributed in four office floors, a ground floor with a reception and 40 parking spaces. The property is partially leased, and its current tenants include Telefonica, IBM and Bosch.

Macquarie enters the Spanish Real Estate market with the purchase of an office building in Barcelona

The Australian fund Macquarie has closed its first real estate investment in Spain with the purchase of an office building from Starwood. The asset is in Barcelona’s 22@ district on Pallars number 193, one of the most prime areas of Spanish real estate. 

The building comprises 13,000 sq m and is almost fully occupied with tenants holding long term leases. Among these tenants we can find General Electric, Ticket Master, Enterprise and a coworking space centre. 

Before this transaction Macquarie was operating in Spain under their real estate fund GLL Real Estate Partners as well as working closely with Mapfre.

Conren Tramway acquires an office building in Barcelona from Mapfre

The real estate firm Conren Tramway is finalizing the purchase of an office building which also located in Barcelona’s financial district 22@. The asset was owned by the Spanish insurer Mapfre and entirely leased to the Catalan Water Agency.

The building located on Provenza number 206 comprises 9,200 sq m and has nine floors. Conren plans to refurbish the entire asset in order to satisfy the demands of current office spaces. 

The transaction will be carried out in phases. Recently the transfer of a third of the property was signed with Conren having the option to fully acquire the asset in 2022 and 2023. 

La Llave de Oro invests €24 million in an office building in the 22@ district

La Llave de Oro continues to bet on the 22@ district in Barcelona. The real estate developer has acquired plot with intention to build a 14,000 sq m office building on Roc Boronat street. 

The acquisition will mean a 24 million euros investment including the plot acquisition and the construction of the building which will start this year. The property developer already acquired a plot in 22@ to build an office building in 2018 which was sold to Blackstone at the start of 2020.

Office Investment Market

In 2021, the investment in offices reached 2,756 million euros according to EY, of which 59% correspond to operations in Barcelona, 33% in Madrid, 3% in Seville and the rest distributed amongst other main cities.

In particular, Barcelona’s office market is experiencing a boom in the financial district 22@ with record investment figures of 1,650 million euros. This figure represents a 250% increase compared to 2020 and a 10% with respect to 2019; CBRE reports.