Metrovacesa and Colonial's shopping centre unit Riofisa have decided to pull out of a project to develop Madrid's largest shopping mall which the two Spanish companies were awarded in 2006. Construction of the Atlantys shopping mall in Valdebebas, northern Madrid, came to an halt this week when the two debt-laden developers said they had withdrawn their interest in the EUR 650 mln development,. The companies blamed tight credit conditions and the property downturn in the country.
Metrovacesa and Colonial's shopping centre unit Riofisa have decided to pull out of a project to develop Madrid's largest shopping mall which the two Spanish companies were awarded in 2006. Construction of the Atlantys shopping mall in Valdebebas, northern Madrid, came to an halt this week when the two debt-laden developers said they had withdrawn their interest in the EUR 650 mln development,. The companies blamed tight credit conditions and the property downturn in the country.
According to Spanish paper El Pais, Riofisa and Metrovacesa won the bidding to acquire the land and carry out the development of the site in February 2006. They agreed to pay a total of EUR 214 mln by the end of July 2008 to finalise the acquisition of the plot of land from the city, but failed to meet payments. The municipality of Madrid said it will be forced to organise a new bidding process for the project, which was due to be completed by the end of 2009. With 150,000 m2 of retail space, Atlantys will become the largest shopping mall in the city and one of the largest retail schemes in Europe.
