Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has agreed the sale of its landmark Cornerstone office property in Poblenou, Barcelona for €80 mln.
Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, has agreed the sale of its landmark Cornerstone office property in Poblenou, Barcelona for €80 mln.
The buyer is a fund managed and a European mandate advised by UBS Global Asset Management's Global Real Estate (GRE) business.
Benson Elliot agreed to forward purchase the 20,700 m2 office development from Banco Sabadell subsidiary Solvia in March 2011, in a joint venture with Bream Real Estate. At the time, few were willing to make such a considerable - let alone speculative - commitment to Spain’s real estate sector, the company said in a press release.
Cornerstone was opened in November 2013 and awarded the city’s first ever LEED Gold Certificate for an office development. The asset is 77% let a year post-delivery. Tenants include ADP, a global leader in outsourced services and human resources management, and German manufacturer Henkel.
'When we committed to purchase Cornerstone in 2011, Benson Elliot was one of a small handful of international real estate companies who would even consider Spain as an investment target,' commented Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior partner. 'We believed in the sustainability of Barcelona as a magnet for international business, and saw a dearth of competitive supply in the pipeline. Cornerstone is now one of Barcelona’s leading office developments, and the strong institutional interest we saw emerge during the sale process has validated our decision to move early into the Spanish market.'
In September 2014, Benson Elliot bought a further 23,400 m2 land plot in the Las Glorias area for another office development.
Benson Elliot was advised by Cushman & Wakefield and Ashurst, while the buy-side legal advice was provided by Dentons.
