New Spanish REIT Axia buys €53m of assets

Newly launched Spanish REIT Axia Real Estate has spent close to €53 mln on an office property and two logistics platforms in Spain.

In Madrid, the company, which raised €360 mln in an initial public offering in July, purchased an office building in Madrid for almost €29 mln from Germany’s IVG. Located in the city’s Alcobendas district, the property comprises 17,270 m2 of GLA and 396 parking spaces.

Axia also bought two logistics platforms located in Cabanillas del Campo (Guadalajara) and Dos Hermanas (Seville) from CBRE Global Investors for just under €24 mln.

CBRE Spain advised Axia on the logistics purchase.

The Spanish REIT, in which US banks JP Morgan and Citigroup are major shareholders, said at its IPO in July that it planned to invest the proceeds from the offering in the next 12 to 18 months, largely in offices (70%) and logistics assets (20%).

Foreign investors looking to enter the Spanish property market are increasingly opting for tax-efficient REIT structures to make their first move.

Earlier in July Merlin Properties made its debut on the Spanish stock exchange with a €1.29 bn IPO, the largest listing ever of a European real estate investment trust (REIT).

And in March, Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios went public after receiving commitments from a number of cornerstone investors and other players including Quantum Strategic Partners, Paulson and Co, Moore Capital Management, APG, Cohen & Steers and the Canepa group.

Many of these new REITs are now investing the funds raised from their IPOs. Last week, Merlin Properties spent €260 mln on the acquisition of the Marineda City shopping and leisure complex in A Coruna.