Spain’s Neinor will continue to play an active role in the consolidation of the Spanish living sector following the acquisition of residential developer Aedas, according to chief financial officer and deputy CEO Jordi Argemi.
“Over the past years, we have assumed the role of consolidator in the highly-fragmented Spanish residential development sector and we are in a very good position to do more in the future,” Argemi told IPE Real Assets.
Earlier this week, Neinor tendered nearly 80% of the shares in Aedas, the owner of a land bank with potential for more than 15,000 housing units in Spain.
Neinor, which has a gross asset value of €1.4bn and a fully owned land bank to develop 12,000 homes, bought nearly 35m shares at €21.335 per share, representing a total investment of €740m. The firm plans to launch a tender offer for Aedas shares at €24.00 each.
Although Aedas was Neinor’s largest competitor in the market, the two companies combined will still represent only about 6-7% of the market share of the Spanish housing development market, points out Argemi. “I’m convinced that some more consolidation is bound to happen in our industry and we’re well-placed to take advantage of that,” said Argemi.
In the years 2014-2017 several international private equity firms invested heavily into the residential development market in Spain, where supply had dropped tremendously after the 2008 property bust.
As years have gone by, many are now believed to be seeking exits. This includes development platforms such as Culmia, which is backed by Oaktree or Vía Célere, which is majority owned by Värde Partners, and earlier this year was recapitalised by CBRE Investment Management.
Aedas was previously majority owned by Castlelake which started investing in Spanish land in 2012 and brought the platform public in 2017. “The fact that the market is doing well gave us the opportunity to negotiate a win-win transaction with Castlelake,” says Argemi. “We can buy at a reasonable price and they are able to exit the investment.”
Last year Neinor also took a 10% interest in developer Habitat and partnered with Habitat’s largest owner Bain Capital, to manage Habitat’s landbank with capacity for 8,000 units.
| Recently completed deals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
| 79% stake in Aedas | corporate | Spain | Neinor Homes | Castlelake | 15,000units | €740 | Neinor has committed to launching a subsequent mandatory tender offer at €24.00 per share. |
| Corbinian | development | Munich | Stumpf Development | Insolvent Signa Group | NA | €380 | The project involves the redevelopment of the historic Bahnhofplatz area, including renovating the Karstadt department store. |
| 6% stake in Whitbread | corporate | UK | Corvex Management | Shareholders | NA | ~£260 (€297) | The new shareholer is calling for a strategic review of the company’s direction and capital allocation. |
| Senevita group | corporate | Switzerland | Tertianum | Emeis | 3,600beds | €270 | The deal encompasses 40 nursing homes and senior residences across Switzerland. |
| Fradley Park industrial asset | logistics | Lichfield, UK | Royal London Asset Management Property | Ares | 1.65m sqft | £197 (€224) | Fradley Park spans 173 acres, is home to occupiers including DHL, Geodis, Hawkins Logistics, Palletways and Faurecia. |
| New Babylon | office | The Hague | Capreon | PFA and Hannover Leasing | 49,000m2 | €120 | The deal reflects a net initial yield of 7%. |
| Ombu office | office | Madrid | Mapfre | Acciona | 14,000m2 | €110 | The building was inaugurated by Acciona in June 2022. |
| Parque Comercial Abadía | retail | Toledo, Spain | Redevco | Helios RE | 52,115m2 | €104 | The asset opened its doors in 2011. |
| Liberty logistics portfolio of three assets | logistics | The Netherlands | M&G Real Estate | NA | 74,000m2 | €100 | The deal was made on behalf of the M&G European Property Fund. |
| Hotel Ocean House Costa del Sol | hotel | Torremolinos, Spain | Grupotel | Apollo Global Management | 350 rooms | €80 | The asset was bought by Apollo in 2020. |
| the Outlet Stores Alicante | retail | Alicante, Spain | Via Outlets | UBS fund | 35,000m2 | €70 | The asset is almost fully let. |
| Retail Park Strakonická asset | retail | České Budějovice, Czech Republic | Fio Real Estate Fund | Mitiska REIM | 10,900m2 | NA | Mitiska REIM acquired Retail Park Strakonická in December 2022 on behalf of the FRI 2 fund in partnership with Asset Services. |
| The Hoxton Hotel | hotel | Barcelona | Partners Group, Trinity Investments | Norlake Hospitality | 240 rooms | NA | This represents Partners Group’s fourth investment with Trinity since acquiring a strategic minority stake in the operator in 2023. |
| 15-acre logistics site | logistics | Northampton, UK | Panattoni | Ceva Logistics | 15 acres | NA | The developer plans a spec project on the site with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of £75m. |
| Tazzoli 6 | office | Milan | Barings | Unnamed institutional investor | 11,000m2 | NA | The asset is partially let, with the opportunity for redevelopment to a Grade A standard with ESG credentials. |
| One Tower Bridge | mixed | London | Greenridge Investment Management | Redevco | 14 units | NA | The acquisition of the asset in London’s Southbank marks the first London investment from Greenridge Opportunities (GO), a £150m core-plus fund. |
| logistics asset | logistics | Helsinki | Sicore Real Assets | Urban Partners-managed fund and Pontos | 15,000m2 | NA | The asset serves as DHL Express’s main sorting centre in Finland. |
| retail park in Naumburg | retail | Naumburg, Germany | Paref Gestion | BBV 9 | 12,000m2 | NA | The retail park is fully let to food retailer Kaufland. |
| Panattoni Park Warsaw North II | logistics | Warsaw | Trigea | Panattoni | 88,000m2 | NA | The complex is suitable for both warehousing and light manufacturing operations. |
| logistics asset | logistics | Milan | AEW | DWS | 55,000m2 | NA | This prime asset was completed in 2018 as a build-to-suit project for Arcese. |
| Platan Park Warsaw | mixed | Warsaw | DL Invest | Platan Group | 55,000m2 | NA | DL Invest Park Platan comprises a data center operated by Equinix, a self-storage facility, and Small Business Units (SBU) space. |
| Amazon Returns Center | logistics | Sered, Slovakia | ERSTE Realitná Renta | Manova Partners | 62,245m2 | NA | The Amazon Return Center was Manova Partners’ first investment in Slovakia, acquired back in 2017. |
| Park Centers retail park portfolio | retail | Poland | Gránit Asset Management | Revetas Capital | 45,000m2 | NA | The portfolio includes eight retail parks and four single-tenant properties almost fully let. |
| Recently completed loans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
| Eldridge and Starwood | Ballymore Group and Penta Real Estate | Capston resi project in London | £193.5 (€220) | The 247-apartment project includes a fitness centre, cinema and business lounge with co-working spaces. |
| Rabobank | Bouwinvest Dutch Institutional Residential Fund | Residential portfolio in the Netherlands | €200 | The secured green RCF will support the Residential Fund’s long-term strategy of both rejuvenating and making its portfolio more sustainable in urban areas. |
| ING | Nuveen | 40 Holborn Viaduct in London | £170 (€194) | The green loan will finance a massive spec green redevelopment. |
| Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies | Lagerbox | self storage portfolio | €100 | The borrower is one of Germany’s largest self storage platforms. |
| Santander, ABN Amro | PPHE Hotel Group | Park Plaza Victoria London | £88 (€100) | The loan replaces a facility from Barings. |
| Investec | W.RE | St. Pancras Campus in London | £80 (€91) | The facility refinances a development loan Investec provided for the now completed central London mixed-use scheme. |
| Schroders Capital, Kinnerton Capital | Titania Holding | mixed-use real estate scheme in Barkarbystaden, Greater Stockholm | €77 | The construction will support the delivery of 377 homes, commercial units, and a 144-space underground car park. |
| Greater Manchester Pension Fund | Whitbread | 276-room hotel in Manchester | £42 (€48) | The loan will support the development of the hotel. |
| New mandates/JVs and funds on the market | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | Fund/mandate/JV | Strategy | Details |
| Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Mandatum | Finnish residential JV | Targeting residential acquisitions across the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. | The duo have launched the venture with the acquisition of around 360 units for €70m. |
| Dea Capital Real Estate and Invesco Real Estate | Student housing JV in France | Developing student housing facilities in France | The investment platform has already acquired four prime sites in France representing a total of 1,000 beds. |
| Harleyford Capital | Harleyford Logistics Partnership II fund | UK urban logistics strategy | The £100m strategy has already completed three acquisitions. |
| LendInvest Mortgages, HSBC, AB Carval | Development finance funding partnership | Providing development finance to accelerate the delivery of new homes across the UK. | The funding structure launches with £175m of senior capital committed by HSBC, supported by funds managed by AB CarVal and LendInvest. |
