Resolution re-enters Spanish market with €100m JV

Resolution Property is re-entering the Spanish real estate market with a €100 mln joint venture to reposition a portfolio comprising luxury residential, hotels and land around Marbella, on the Southern Costa del Sol.

The UK-based real estate investor is forming a 50:50 joint venture with a private investment partner to manage an existing €50 mln portfolio comprising 15 value-add assets in Marbella’s Golden Mile.

The joint venture intends to invest up to a further €50 mln growing the portfolio through distressed acquisitions and value-add asset management.

The joint venture represents the final investment for Resolution Real Estate Fund IV. It follows Resolution Property’s delivery of similar residential repositioning ventures in Switzerland and Denmark.

Resolution Property was an active investor in Spain and Portugal’s retail markets in the mid-2000s. The Marbella venture represents its return to the Spanish market, which it will also target for further acquisitions on behalf of its next fund, Resolution Real Estate Fund V, in which China’s Fosun Property will be the cornerstone investor.

Resolution Property will provide expertise in niche residential repositioning, together with retail and leisure know-how, to complement its joint venture partner’s track record in the local area.

'Marbella is a sheltered market sustained by international high net-worth individuals,' said Michel Nangia of Resolution Property. 'Furthermore, the wider Spanish economy continues its recovery, with declining unemployment and consistently positive GDP growth over more than two years. Against this backdrop we have the opportunity to add significant value to this portfolio through an active asset management and refurbishment programme.'

The partners intend to grow the portfolio through off-market distressed opportunities on a scale enabling a future conversion into a real estate investment trust, known in Spain as Socimi.

Hogan Lovells were the legal advisors on the transaction.