Investment manager Azora plans to raise €500 mln for a new Spanish real estate investment trust which will be known as Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios.
Investment manager Azora plans to raise €500 mln for a new Spanish real estate investment trust which will be known as Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios.
Newly created Hispania said it has already received commitments of €314 mln 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.
The company will seek a primary listing for its ordinary shares on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges. It aims to raise gross proceeds of €500 mln through the institutional placement, plus a 10% overallotment option.
Azora has hired Goldman Sachs and UBS to market the listed fund, which is expected to start trading before 31 March 2014.
'The Spanish real estate sector currently presents an interesting opportunity for those investors with the expertise to navigate this complex environment in order to select the right assets,' commented Fernando Gumuzio of Hispania. 'We have established Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios to take advantage of these opportunities by leveraging Azora’s strong track record and expertise in the market to build a high-quality portfolio that creates value for shareholders.'
Hispania intends to invest primarily in multi-family residential properties, offices and hotels in Spain. 'This means quality assets that are well located and with yield potential, that require either some repositioning, capex investment or active asset management,' the company said.
Hispania's initial investment strategy is to invest over three years and then liquidate the portfolio and return value to shareholders in the following three years.
Hispania will be externally managed by Azora Gestión SGIIC, and its board will be chaired by Rafael Miranda Robredo, the former CEO of Endesa. The other board members include Joaquin Ayuso, former CEO of Ferrovial, and Luis Mañas, board member of Aviva.
To ensure close alignment with the interests of all shareholders, the management team has agreed to invest capital in Hispania representing 2.28% of the expected initial offering proceeds.
Founded in 2003, Azora focuses on real assets across five strategies: residential real estate - encompassing social housing and student accommodation - offices, hotels, and energy. The group is chaired by Juan del Rivero, a former partner of Goldman Sachs, and has more than €2 bn of AUM (Spain, Europe and America).
Azora joins a string of Spanish property companies looking to launch or convert to REIT status after legislative changes eased listing requirements and aroused investors' interest in these structures. Last week, Spanish family-owned property company Grupo Lar announced plans to list its shares on Spain's main stock exchanges and convert to tax-efficient REIT status.
Grupo Lar intends to raise around €400 mln from the issue of 40 million new ordinary shares at a price of €10 per share. The group will seek a listing under the name of Lar España Real Estate Socimi on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia exchanges.