GOEFs lead race to acquire Realia trophy asset

A number of German open-ended real estate funds, including Deka and Union Investment, are pushing ahead with attempts to buy the Diagonal 640 office building in Barcelona, well-informed market sources told PropertyEU. Madrid-based Realia put the trophy asset on the market in early 2010 through CB Richard Ellis.

Last week, the company received the last round of bids for the building, which is said to be worth around EUR 140 mln. Realia, which is controlled by construction group FCC and Spanish lender Caja Madrid, is likely to start negotiations with a potential buyer this week.

Other bidders for the property are said to include a number of Spanish family offices. Developed in the 1990s by Prima Inmobiliaria, the property is mostly let to the international auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. It offers 28,500 m² of office space and 417 parking spaces.

Realia posted a net loss of EUR 54 mln in 2009, mostly as a result of hefty writedowns in its property protfolio. The value of its portfolio shed nearly 12% to EUR 4.5 bn at the end of 2009.