Spanish bad bank Sareb has sold a portfolio of performing and non-performing loans with a face value of €200 mln to a consortium led by Canyon Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles-based employee-owned hedge fund.

Spanish bad bank Sareb has sold a portfolio of performing and non-performing loans with a face value of €200 mln to a consortium led by Canyon Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles-based employee-owned hedge fund.

The portfolio, known as 'Pamela', includes 23 loans backed by some 20 residential buildings in the Madrid area. Financial details were not disclosed.

In a statement, Sareb said that the deal is the largest portfolio sale closed by the financial institution so far this year.

'The disposal reflects the market recovery and the level of interest on the part of international investors in the Spanish real estate Sector,' Sareb added.

Sareb was advised by Irea and Baker & Makenzey. Law firm Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira acted for the buyer.

Spain is set to have a record-breaking year in terms of commercial real estate loan sales, according to Cushman & Wakefield's latest update on the European market.

Transaction volumes in Spain surged in the first half of this year, largely thanks to the sale of Project Octopus, a portfolio owned by Hypothekenbank Frankfurt, formerly Eurohypo. The €4.4 bn package was sold earlier this year to JP Morgan and Lone Star, which purchased the performing and non-performing loans respectively.

'The Spanish market has sparked to life in H1 2014 and is now at the top of investors' target lists,' said Reno Cardiff, parner and head of capital markets Spain at C&W. 'With almost €200 bn of non-core real estate exposure on the books of Spanish banks and Sareb, many of the big-name investors are well-positioned to take advantage of any potential opportunities. Sale volumes in Spain will only go one way!'