European private equity group Doughty Hanson has reportedly pulled the plug on the development of the flagship Valdebebas retail development project in Northeastern Madrid.
European private equity group Doughty Hanson has reportedly pulled the plug on the development of the flagship Valdebebas retail development project in Northeastern Madrid.
According to Spanish papers, the large-scale Valdebebas project was abandoned a few weeks after the start of construction due to difficulties in retrieving financing. Doughty Hanson was not directly available for comment on Thursday.
The project, designed by star architects Chapman Taylor, was planned to offer some 140,000 m2 of gross retail space on completion in 2015. The total investment cost for the scheme was estimated at some EUR 500 mln.
Doughty Hanson committed to the development of the site in May 2010, and development was initially planned to begin in the first quarter of 2012. C&W and CBRE were appointed as marketing agents.
The UK-based investor was picked by the city of Madrid for the development of the project, having presented a EUR 110-120 mln offer for the plot of land.
It is the second time that developers abandon the project. In September 2008, local property groups Metrovacesa and Riofisa decided to pull out of the project in September 2008, having won the construction in 2006 with an offer of EUR 238 mln. The companies blamed tight credit conditions and the property downturn in the country.
