Intu Group’s administrators have reached an agreement to sell Intu’s 50% shareholding in the Xanadú shopping centre in Madrid over four years after making a first sale attempt amid a struggling retail property sector.

Rivoli Asset Management, a Madrid-headquartered firm supporting private wealth clients of Banco Santander led by Julián Crespo, is buying half of the 117,000m2 scheme in a transaction which values the entire shopping centre at around €416 mln. Nuveen owns the remaining 50% stake.

‘The transaction has been over four years in the making as we and the Intu team have sought to stabilise the asset post-administration and post-pandemic, putting in place a strong financial platform before bringing Intu’s 50% shareholding to market and, ultimately, delivering a material return to Intu’s creditors,’ comments Jim Tucker, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator of Intu Group.  

Pablo Gómez-Almansa, head of Acquisitions at Rivoli Asset Management, believes this is an asset ‘with extraordinary potential’. ‘We are committed to maximising returns for our investors and continuing to attract the best operators in the market, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term success for the centre,’ he notes.

Interpath, the administrator to failed retail REIT Intu, launched the latest sales process for the asset in spring 2024 seeking €225 mln. This followed a first attempt made in 2020.

Intu originally acquired the whole centre for €530 mln in 2017, selling a 50% stake to Nuveen Real Estate. The debt with a club of Spanish and French banks was refinanced by Interpath and Nuveen in 2022. As part of the recapitalisation, the two owners injected additional equity and Hong Kong group SC Lowry was reported to have provided mezzanine debt.

At about the same time, the administration of Intu’s ownership was extended again to give breathing space for a better time to sell the investment.

Retail real estate also dominated the refinancing list this week, with Italian REIT Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione replacing bond debt with a total of €615 mln in green bank financings. The secured facility agreement was signed with a pool of national and international banks including, as mandated dead arrangers, Intesa Sanpaolo - IMI CIB Division, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banco BPM, BNL BNP Paribas, BPER, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit.

‘Once the existing bonds are repaid using the facility proceeds, the obstacles to the distribution of a voluntary dividend to our shareholders will be removed,’ says Roberto Zoia, CEO and Managing Director of IGD.

 

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
eight assets mixed Helsingborg, Malmö and Lund, Sweden Wihlborgs Granitor 51,000 m2 SEK 2400 (€215) The portfolio also includes two development properties with 82,000 m2 of land for operations and 12,000 m2 of GLA for offices.
50% stake in the Xanadú shopping centre retail Madrid Rivoli Asset Management Intu 117,000 m2 €208 The acquisition was made through an investment participated by Private Wealth clients of Banco Santander.
three hotels hotel Tenerife Hyatt Blantyre 1,000 rooms €120 The portfolio includes the Alua Atlántico Golf Resorts, Tenerife.
two residential schemes living Berlin Roundhill KW-Development GmbH, local developer 256 apartments €100 The property in Hohen Neuendorf comprises 208 apartments and the one in Erkner has 51 apartments.
Sainsbury’s distribution centre logistics Haydock, UK Tritax Big Box private client of Mutual Finance 650,000 ft2 £75 (€90) The cross-dock distribution centre is let to Sainsbury’s until 2038.
9 last-mile industrial and logistics assets logistics UK ICG Real Estate NA 840,000 ft2 £50 (€60) One transaction comprises the acquisition of five assets totalling 600,000 ft2 and let to National Timber Group.
Wilkelhof shopping centre retail Leiderdorp, the Netherlands Urban Interest Wereldhave 19,300 m2 €56 The project will be developed in the second quarter of 2025.
Prism Park distribution park logistics Wakefield, UK Leftfield Undisclosed 207,062 ft2 £32 (€38) Prism Park comprises two best-in-class, newly built units.
single-let warehouse logistics Dartford, UK Crossbay abrdn 65,000 ft2 NA The acquisition brings Crossbay’s UK logistics portfolio to over 1 million ft2.
logistics facility logistics Ense, Germany Citylink WDM Deutenberg 14,447 m2 NA Citylink is a joint venture between Proptimize and Highbrook specializing in urban logistics.
Light Industrial Property logistics Weißenburg, Germany Madison International Realty and StoneVest group of private investors 15,000 m2 NA The tenant, KTX GmbH, is a specialist in interior and exterior components for the automotive industry.
Vaclav-Havel-Platz 6 office Bonn HIH Invest unnamed Swiss investor 11,241 m2 NA The asset is entirely leased to the German Federal Agency for Real Estate (BImA).
resi portfolio living Hanover Baum-Gruppe Meag 14,322 m2 NA The portfolio comprises 19 buildings with 212 residential units.
Mileast Logistics Park logistics Bergamo SFO Capital Partners, Edmond de Rothschild REIM, Garbe Industrial Real Estate Garbe Industrial Real Estate 22,000 m2 NA Colliers has been mandated to find occupiers for this new project.
logistics facility logistics Paderborn, Germany Tristan Capital Partners, Scantum DW Aldi 35,000 m2 NA Plans are to modernise the asset which was occupied by Aldi until 2022.
NH Collection Milan CityLife hotel hotel Milan Schroders Capital Invesco Real Estate 185 rooms NA The sale has allowed Invesco’s European Hotel Fund to capture the strong performance delivered by the hotel since it was completed in 2022.
newly built and fully let logistics asset logistics Düsseldorf, Germany AEW LogProject 19,500 m2 NA Completed in early 2024, this asset comprises two modern warehouse units in a single logistics building.
logistics facility logistics Lyon Realterm NA 11,464 m2 NA The property is currently vacant and available for lease.
two cross-dock logistics properties logistics Cologne, Berlin Ofi Invest Real Estate DWS 15,000 m2 NA The two buildings were delivered in 2016.

 

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
ultra-urban portfolio logistics UK Valor NA €600 NA Around half of the logistics portfolio is based in and around London.
Yugo Madrid Coliseo Europea living Madrid GSA 412 rooms €90+ NA The property was completed in 2022 and refinanced last year.
Silverstone hotel hotel Towcester, UK Bricks Group 197 rooms £70 (€84) JLL The hotel is located on the racing circuit’s Hamilton Straight.
18 Newmarket Square living Dublin Revelate Capital, Valpre Capital, Aventicum Real Estate 130 apartments €80 CBRE The scheme is on track for completion in September.

 

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
Intesa Sanpaolo, MPS, Banco BPM, BNL BNP Paribas, BPER, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione Italian retail property portfolio €615 This floating-rate borrowing includes three facility structures: A (€285 mln, 5-year term), B (€315 mln, 7-year term) and C (€15 mln, revolving, up to 3-year term).
King Street and Cohort Middle Eastern family Arlington House £171 (€205) A former facility with Deutsche Bank had come to maturity.
HSBC Helical and Places for London 10 King William Street £125 (€150) The four-year development financing facility with a one-year extension will fund construction of the scheme.
Maslow Regal Camden PBSA scheme £115 (€138) The funding will support the delivery of a 264-bed PBSA scheme, alongside 30 affordable residential units and 8,935 ft2 of commercial space.
Infranity Borealis Data Center data centre portfolio €130 BDC is a data centre operator with locations in Iceland and Finland.
OakNorth Staycity UK aparthotels £77 (€92) The company plans to expand to 18,000 apartments across Europe over next five years.
Octopus Real Estate Curzon De Vere business and logistics park project in Suffolk, UK £50 (€60) The senior acquisition financing supports the acquisition of the 32.8-acre freehold site, intended for the expansion of the Port One Business and Logistics Park.
Ask Avanton Richmond residential scheme £25 (€30) The funding will refinance existing debt from ICG.
OakNorth O’Shea and Galliard holiday lodges at Saltmoore, UK £23 (€27) The loan will be used to fund the next stage in converting the historic 19th century, Raithwaite Sandsend Estate.
PGIM UrbanLinx five light industrial assets in the Netherlands NA The firm’s strategy is to use debt to grow its portfolio to circa €250 mln over the next two years.

 

 

Funds on the market   
Firm Fund Strategy Details
Brookfield Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners V Investing in companies and opportunistic real estate assets around the world The company raised $500 mln for the fund in the final quarter of the year.
      The final close is planned for the first half of this year.