Spanish financial giant Banco Santander confirmed that it has sold 10 historic properties to Grupo Pontegadea, the investment vehicle of Inditex chairman Amancio Ortega. The investment volume comes to EUR 458 mln. The bank added that the transaction will generate capital gains of EUR 216 mln. The Spanish lender has entered into a 40-year leaseback agreement and has retained the right to repurchase the properties on the expiration of the leases.
Spanish financial giant Banco Santander confirmed that it has sold 10 historic properties to Grupo Pontegadea, the investment vehicle of Inditex chairman Amancio Ortega. The investment volume comes to EUR 458 mln. The bank added that the transaction will generate capital gains of EUR 216 mln. The Spanish lender has entered into a 40-year leaseback agreement and has retained the right to repurchase the properties on the expiration of the leases.
Santander, headed by Emilio Botin, said that the buildings are located in the business districts of many province capitals including Madrid (Paseo de la Castellana), Barcelona (Paseo de Gracia), Valencia, Bilbao, Malaga and Seville. They provide a total area of 76,578 m2.
The bank announced last June that it was to sell off EUR 4 bn in property assets in a sale-and-leaseback deal to help finance its part of a consortium bid for Dutch bank ABN Amro. The sale of the total portfolio could yield capital gains of EUR 1.4 bn, Santander said. Banco Santander reportedly received offers from GE Real Estate, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs for some or all of a large parcel of properties being sold in lots.
The entire property portfolio comprises 44 corporate buildings, including Santander City, the bank's 1.5 million m2 head office in western Madrid, and about 1,200 offices. The Spanish lender will only retain its office in Santander, where the bank was founded 150 years ago.
