Department store chain El Corte Ingles has acquired real estate company Ason from the Reyzabal family for EUR 480 mln. The Spanish property group owns the Madrid plot of land where the landmark Windsor office tower stood in the heart of the city before the blaze in February 2005 that forced its total demolition.
Department store chain El Corte Ingles has acquired real estate company Ason from the Reyzabal family for EUR 480 mln. The Spanish property group owns the Madrid plot of land where the landmark Windsor office tower stood in the heart of the city before the blaze in February 2005 that forced its total demolition.
It took seven months for the Reyzabal family to sell the plot, which provides a build-on area of 30,000 m2. The transaction value comes to EUR 480 mln, which represents a significant reversal for Ason as the price originally sought ranged between EUR 650 mln and EUR 700 mln. However, Spanish national newspaper El Pais described the deal as the most important and emblematic property acquisition in the Spanish capital of the last 12 months.
Ason owns several assets in Spain, including 20% of the Picasso tower, 60,000 m2 of office space, 800 parking places, the Marbella building, commercial assets in Madrid as well as residential portfolios spread across Spain. Another jewel by Ason is the Picasso tower, which is 80% controlled by FCC. The construction company already said it intends to acquire the remaining 20% which has now been transferred to El Corte Ingles.
The Windsor tower was built in 1979 and at 106 metres with 32 floors was the eighth tallest building in Madrid. According to a provisional project, the new building will also be 106-metres high and will house offices on the lowest floors, with apartments on the upper ones. In a statement, El Corte Ingles said it has not decided yet what it will use the new asset for. The municipality of Madrid would like the Windsor development to house a new shopping centre, El Pais said.
The acquisition of Ason is one of the biggest deals carried out by El Corte Ingles. In 2001, the group purchased the UK-based firm Marks and Spencer in Spain for EUR 105 mln.