Via Célere, a subsidiary of Värde Partners, has become the largest housing developer in Spain with the acquisition of the land bank assets of its peer Aelca.
Värde Partners, which holds a 75% stake in Via Célere, said following the transaction, Via Célere’s gross asset value increases to over €2.2bn. Financial terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.
Värde will retain full ownership of Aelca, and continue to partner with Jose Juan Martin and Javier Gomez, the founders of Aelca, to support the company as an independent manager and promoter of residential properties in Spain.
The alternative investment firm said Via Célere will now be positioned to deliver around 2,000 housing units in 2019 with the ability to deliver 5,000 units by 2021.
Hector Serrat, a managing director at Värde Partners, said: “Via Célere is remarkably well positioned to focus exclusively on building an impressive portfolio of best-in-class homes and flats as it will not need to purchase a single plot of land to hit its delivery targets over the next three years.”
Francisco Milone, the head of European real estate at Värde Partners, said: “Värde has extensive experience in the residential development space, including owning and operating home builders across Europe and the US, and we are fully committed to residential development in Spain.
“The Spanish homebuilding market remains fragmented and in need of further consolidation by scalable operators with a track record of delivering on time and on budget.”
