GreenOak Real Estate has completed the acquisition of the 78,500 m2 Las Mercedes office complex in Madrid from Standard Life Investments (SLI).
The investment volume was not disclosed.
Opened in 2004 as of one of the largest office complexes in Madrid, Las Mercedes is located at Calle Campezo 1, opposite Madrid’s Barajas Airport, in close proximity to Klepierre’s 70,000 m2 Plenilunio Shopping Centre.
Las Mercedes consists of five buildings with a 200-metre direct frontage to the A2 freeway. Comprising 78,500 m2, the complex boasts nine office buildings, as well as 1,650 parking spaces and private communal garden. Las Mercedes is currently home to a range of blue-chip occupiers, including Altran, Applus, the Spanish Medicines Regulatory Agency and Xerox.
John Carrafiell, Europe-based co-founder of GreenOak, said: 'The acquisition of Las Mercedes Business Park, one of Madrid's only master-planned office campuses, reflects GreenOak’s strategic focus: core Madrid sub-markets, excellent build quality and well-located assets, which are sought after by tenants. In light of its location, green environment, services, on-site amenities, and high-quality tenant roster, Las Mercedes is poised to become the premier choice for tenants in Greater Madrid. This acquisition is part of our ongoing strategic focus on the Spanish market and is well-timed to capture the surge in occupier demand we see targeting Madrid’s best sub-markets, on the back of rising prime CBD rents.'
Daniel McHugh, head of Continental European real estate, Standard Life Investments, added: 'Las Mercedes was one of the first acquisitions we made in Spain. While this sale fulfills the long-term strategic aims of the fund to which it belonged, we remain firmly committed to the Spanish market overall, notably through our continued ownership of assets in Barcelona and Madrid. Spain’s robust underlying fundamentals make it an attractive proposition as arguably the strongest recovery market in Europe at present.'
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo provided legal counsel to the seller, while CBRE acted as exclusive advisor on the sale. Clifford Chance acted as legal counsel to GreenOak, and JLL and Gleeds acted as advisors in this transaction.
GreenOak is an independent, partner-owned, real estate focused principal investing, lending and advisory firm. GreenOak has raised and invested or committed $750 mln of equity, acquiring $1.3 bn in assets in Europe since 2012. In Spain alone, GreenOak has acquired 700,000 m2 in 21 separate transactions in logistics, office, retail and residential.
Since 2011, GreenOak has raised $4.6 bn of discretionary equity for real estate investment in Europe, the US and Asia. Globally GreenOak has acquired $8.2 bn (€7.4 bn) of assets up to March 2016.
