New Spanish real estate investment trust Árima has announced plans to raise up to €300 mln in an initial public offering on the Mercado Continuo segment of Madrid's stock exchange.
In a statement this week, Árima said that it aims to become 'the only listed, internally managed, Spanish REIT focused purely on Spain and mainly on offices in Madrid'.
'Madrid’s office market is a clear example of the current imbalance between supply and demand of high quality (Grade A) offices and we have great experience in creating unique products designed to satisfy that demand,' commented CEO Luis López de Herrera-Oria.
De Herrera-Oria is the former head of Axiare Patrimonio which earlier this year merged with Inmobiliaria Colonial creating a €10 bn office property giant. Together with the rest of the management team, he will take part in the offering of new shares exclusively targeted at institutional investors.
Árima will focus on investing and repositioning office properties, with the aim of generating total shareholder returns of 12 to 15% per annum. The strategy mirrors that of Axiare, where De Herrera-Oria and the rest of the management team were able to grow the company’s net asset value (EPRA NAV) by 62% and deliver a total shareholder return of 97% in approximately three and a half years.
Offices are expected to make up for 80-90% of the company's total portfolio, with a focus on the central business district and other well-established areas in Madrid and, to a lesser extent, Barcelona. Spanish logistics assets will account for the remaining 10-20% of the portfolio.
The company expects to have fully invested the proceeds of the offering within 18 months.
