Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC has taken a 30% equity stake in GMP, a Spanish family-owned office property landlord, representing an investment of over €200 mln.
Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC has taken a 30% equity stake in GMP, a Spanish family-owned office property landlord, representing an investment of over €200 mln.
GMP, which owns a €1.2 bn portfolio of office properties largely located in the Spanish capital, had been looking for an equity partner to carry out an ambitious acquisition programme in Spanish offices.
The company, which is based in Madrid and owns 415,000 m2 of offices, hired CBRE and JP Morgan in May to find an equity investor for a minority interest in the firm.
In July the company acquired the former headquarters of Altadis in Madrid, which offers 13,000 m2 and will be redeveloped in the near future. It also recently hired as managing director Xabier Barrondo who previously worked for GE Real Estate.
'From a market perspective, GIC entering in the capital of a company such as GMP demonstrates two things: institutional equity is back in Spain and real estate companies, those which are best qualified, will have a leadership role in real estate recovery,' commented Adolfo Ramirez-Escudero, head of CBRE in Spain which advised on the deal.
The Montoro Aleman family will continue to hold a 70% stake in the company following the deal.
Singapore's GIC is already present in Spain particularly in the retail sector. In 2009, the sovereign wealth fund acquired a 49% in La Maquinista shopping centre from Unibail Rodamco.