Grosvenor Europe is stepping up its operations in Madrid following acceptance of the brand of high-end residential conversions that the company began in 2017.
Grosvenor Europe CEO James Raynor said the firm has at least another €100 mln to spend and is bidding on two potential development opportunities at present.
‘We started buying sites in central Madrid for the development of high-end residential that focuses on high-quality living,’ Raynor said.
He added that the initial phase had gone well and the company has started construction on three projects, another will begin in two months and a fifth is longer term. He said the Madrid operation has ‘created good momentum’ and has moved to a stage of finding more sites.
‘We still feel there are opportunities in the market,’ Raynor said. However, he added that residential land values have grown so it is important to be selective in terms of sites and underwriting. ‘Nevertheless, there is not a huge supply coming to the market.’
The company is currently building about 80 units in a rolling programme of development and sales, but this could increase to 120 units.
‘The projects tend to be reasonably small because it is a constrained city,’ Raynor said.
Opportunities the company is currently pursuing are similar to those in hand: existing ‘unloved’ buildings that are centrally located and can be converted to a higher use.
Existing projects include a building in the Chamberi district in north central Madrid – formerly a 10-storey office building which will provide 13 apartments.
Another in the same district is an 1,800 m2 corner residential building which has been renovated and reconfigured to provide 24 apartments.
These properties are being developed in a joint venture between Grosvenor and Malaysian investor Amprop Properties Berhad.
Amprop, a long-term partner of Grosvenor had previously shared schemes in London’s Bankside and in Tokyo, Japan.
This article first appeared in EuroProperty, PropertyEU's sister publication
