Spanish shopping centre mogul Tomás Olivo has secured a development site set to become Madrid’s largest mall after its €55 mln bid received approval by over 50% of the land's owners.
Tomás Olivo, through his socimi General de Galerías Comerciales, is buying the land at Valdebebas, north of the capital’s Barajas airport, with what is believed to have been the only binding offer.
The Valedebebas Compensation Board, which manages the 146,000 m2 site on behalf of its owners, put the land up for sale last March through Savills Aguirre Newman. It was hoping to receive between €80 and €90 mln for the site but GCC's bid was the only binding offer put forward as other potential buyers wanted guarantees first regarding transport improvements needed to the area.
Valdebebas has seen extensive residential development but little accompanying commercial activity yet. A road and a new bridge to connect the community with the airport to the south is due to be completed later next year.
The likely entire investment Galerías Comerciales will make - including the cost of development of the mall as well as the land acquisition - is estimated at circa €200-€250 mln. There is also the possibility of building offices on an additional 36,500 m2 of the site.
Savills advised the vendor.
‘It was important that we sold the land to a buyer committed to developing a big shopping centre and we expect them to start in the next two to three years. That will help development of new commercial,' said Savills' Pablo Mendez. ‘It is important for Valdebebas and it is important for the city - this will probably be the biggest shopping centre in the city,’ he added.
Olivo is listed by Forbes as the seventh-richest person in Spain with a fortune estimated this year at €2.1bn.
Galerías Comerciales is not buying a second site in the same ownership which is earmarked for other uses, such as hotels, senior living and schools.