Spanish listed property developer Neinor Homes has inked a deal with Merak IMS, a holding company controlled by funds managed by Bain Capital, to acquire a 10% stake in Promociones Habitat.
Under the agreement, Neinor will provide development and management services to Habitat’s ongoing developments and land bank.
At the end of June, Habitat had a land bank with the capacity to develop around 8,000 residential housing units. Of the total land bank, Habitat has nearly 50% launched with some 4,000 housing units in different stages of development, of which 2,200 units are currently under construction or completed and 2,000 units are already sold.
As part of the deal, Neinor will provide services to a high-quality land bank that complements its own.
Madrid represents some 3,500 housing units or 44% of the total land bank, located in key areas such as the new southern-west developments of Berrocales, Ahijones and Valdecarros, but also located in high growth areas located to the east of the city, such as Retamar de la Huerta and Brunete.
With this agreement, Neinor will operate the largest residential portfolio in Spain (either on its own behalf or providing services to Habitat), with +10,500 units active, of which +6,000 are under construction or already completed.
Neinor’s co-investment strategy plays a key role within its strategic plan announced in March 2023 as the group puts a greater emphasis on optimising its balance sheet while pursuing equity-efficient growth.
Neinor had a target to raise €500 mln from new strategic partners through to 2027. With the sixth partnership announced to date, Neinor will more than double its 5-year target by achieving €1.2 bn in assets under management in the last 18-month period.
Since March 2023, Neinor has signed four partnership agreements with renowned investors AXA IM Alts, Orion Capital, Urbanitae and Avenue Capital to invest +€300 mln in build-to-sell (BTS) projects.
Through these, Neinor has already acquired five land plots comprising nearly c.1,700 housing units located in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante for a total investment of c.€130 mln.
Additionally, in July 2024, Neinor announced a fifth partnership agreement with Octopus Real Estate to invest €200 mln in the Spanish Independent Senior Living sector.
Borja García-Egotxeaga, Neinor Homes’ CEO said: 'This deal is bound to transform the growth paradigm in the Spanish residential sector, where in recent years existing platforms haven’t been able to scale meaningfully.
'Today, thanks to our dealmaking and execution capacity we are strategically positioned to seize growth opportunities in ways that are highly accretive to both shareholders and co-investors.
'Additionally, the expected strength of the Spanish macro in the next three years is set to act as a tailwind clearly playing into our advantage.'
Nikolay Golubev, a partner at Bain Capital commented: 'We look forward to building upon this partnership with Neinor and leveraging our deep industry expertise to deliver quality housing in Spain.
'Since our acquisition of Habitat, we have created around 5,500 units in a market facing a real shortage of residential housing, a strategy making a big impact across the homebuilding sector.'
