Mutualidad de la Abogacía sells BBVA´s headquarters in Bilbao to Argis Fund

The transaction was closed for close to 150 million euros, resulting in significant capital gains for Mutualidad de la Abogacía. Built in 1923, the building has a total surface area of 21,093 m2 divided into seven floors, a first floor and two basements.

In Madrid on July 14th 2022, Mutualidad de la Abogacía, a non-profit insurance company that offers legal professionals and their families solutions to cover all their pension and savings needs, has announced the sale of BBVA’s emblematic headquarters, located at number 12 Gran Vía de Bilbao, to ARGIS.

The transaction, which has been advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate, has been closed for an amount close to 150 million euros, resulting in significant capital gains for Mutualidad de la Abogacía.

The building is BBVA’s regional headquarters in Bilbao and the bank’s most important branch. Built in 1923, it has a surface area of 21,093 m2 divided into seven floors, first floor and two basements. The building underwent a comprehensive refurbishment in 2009 and has been BREEAM® certified since July 2021. The transaction also includes 167 parking spaces located at three sites in the immediate vicinity of the property: Calle Ledesma 15, Calle Henao 5 and Calle Uribitarte 13. The asset is under lease to BBVA until 2045.

Rafael Navas, CEO of Mutualidad de la Abogacía, said at the closing of the transaction that, «The sale of BBVA’s headquarters in Bilbao is one of the cases that best exemplifies our investment strategy, which is based on asset rotation with the aim of generating relevant returns for our mutual members.»

Alejandro Schuvaks, partner and co-founder of the ARGIS fund, stated at the closing of the transaction that, «The purchase of this asset is a very important milestone in the history of ARGIS and consolidates us as one of the leading real estate investors in Spain. The asset is truly spectacular and provides many possibilities for alternative uses such as retail and hotel, which we can easily explore thanks to the vertical integration with ARGIS Living, our developer«.

Following the transaction, Mutualidad de la Abogacía has a total of 43 properties in its portfolio, with a total surface area of 195,093.12 m2 and a market value of more than 742 million euros. It is also a shareholder of Millenium Hospitality Real Estate Socimi, Advero Socimi Properties, Inbest Prime IV Inmuebles and Inversa Prime Socimi (formerly Almagro Capital), where it also sits on the board of directors of the three entities, and in the real estate investment funds Meridia IV and Ardian Real Estate European Fund II, among others.

Mutualidad de la Abogacía

Mutualidad de la Abogacía is a non-profit entity founded in 1948 that offers legal professionals and their families tailor-made solutions through savings, retirement and protection plans to cover all their pension and investment needs. Mutualidad de la Abogacía has more than 208,759 members and has a managed savings volume of nearly 9,018 million euros at the end of 2021.

ARGIS

ARGIS Fund was founded in 2015 by Alejandro Schuvaks and Carlos Zucchi and has institutional investors and Family Offices from Israel and Latin America participating in the fund. Through their developer ARGIS Living, they are promoting almost 2,000 units in Madrid, have significant tourism investments in the city of Malaga and one of the largest co-living platforms in Spain.