Spain’s Grupo Lar and a Blackrock fund have secured a €306m loan for a major office-to-residential conversion project in Madrid, in what is believed to be the largest financing transaction signed in Spain in the past few years.
Known as Torre Castelló, the €500m redevelopment aims to transform the former Treasury office complex at Madrid’s 50, María de Molina into a 20-storey residential tower and a student residence.
The loan from Banco Santander will fund the construction of the complex scheduled to begin later in 2025. The project will deliver 158 new luxury apartments, as well as a purpose-built student housing scheme, with capacity for 400 beds.
Miguel Ángel Peña, CEO of Living at Grupo Lar, said: “Banco Santander’s support validates the solidity of the project and brings us closer to achieving the goal of delivering to the market a unique asset in terms of location, quality, and concept. The successful pre-sale has confirmed the strong demand for this premium product located in the Salamanca neighborhood.”
Two major corporate acquisitions were also sealed this week. Warehouse REIT agreed to sell itself to Blackstone for £470m (€557.6m) days after the investment firm lowered its offer for the company due to valuation-related issues uncovered during due diligence. Also, Belgian healthcare real estate company Aedifica has agreed to merge with real estate investment trust Cofinimmo, in a deal which will create a healthcare property giant with gross asset value of €12.1bn and the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in Europe.
Also this week, Tritax Management announced the launch of its Tritax London Logistics Fund, an open-ended real estate fund investing in high-quality logistics assets in the Greater London area. The fund, which was seeded with a portfolio comprising 17 assets, is in the process of converting into a private REIT.
Nick Ireland, fund manager, Tritax London Logistics Fund, said: “We are seizing the opportunity to reshape our previously airport-focused portfolio and offer investors direct access to a wider range of logistics assets in the attractive Greater London market.”
| Recently completed deals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
| Cofinimmo platform | corporate | Europe | Aedifica | Cofinimmo shareholders | 2,420,000m² | €2860 | The operation is taking the form of an all‐share voluntary offer for 100% of the shares of Cofinimmo at an exchange ratio of 1.185 new Aedifica shares for each Cofinimmo share. |
| Warehouse REIT platform | corporate | Europe | Blackstone | Shareholders | NA | £470 (€559) | The UK REIT’s board has agreed terms with the US investor on a 110.6p-per-share offer. |
| PBSA portfolio | living | UK | Lone Star | Unite | 3,656 beds | £212 (€252) | The portfolio comprises sites in Aberdeen, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. |
| six logistics warehouses | logistics | Italy | Bain Capital and Stoneweg | VLD | 225,000m2 | €200 | The forward purchase deal involves a two-building development under construction in Greater Florence, a big-box scheme in Southern Rome and a property in Greater Bologna slated for delivery by the first half of 2027. |
| five-building logistics portfolio | logistics | France | EQT Real Estate | Blackstone | 148,000m2 | €150 | Located in the Southern France submarkets of Avignon and Toulouse, the highly reversionary portfolio is let to nine tenants. |
| Spring Mews PBSA asset in Vauxhall | living | London | Barings, Rosethorn Capital | CLS Holdings | 378 beds | £101.1 (€120) | The purchase was made on behalf of a European value-add real estate strategy. |
| Portfolio of 4 assets | living | Nacka & Sollentuna, Sweden | North American pension fund | SBB | 426 apartments | €108 (SEK1179) | The properties – Sollentuna Eldstungan 4 and 5, Nacka Orminge 46:6 and the Nacka Orminge 60:3 leasehold – have a total lettable area of 20,500m2. |
| two newly built residential assets | living | Stockholm | OTPP | NA | 20,500m2 | €100+ | The portfolio comprises 425 residential units. |
| Lake Como “La Cava” hotel | hotel | Como, Italy | Castello Sgr | NA | 37 rooms | €90 | The asset will be completely redeveloped into a luxury hotel property. |
| Hotel Innside Zaragoza and Hotel Innside Palma Bosque | hotel | Spain | Lierinto, private investor | Victoria Hotels & Resorts | 364 rooms | €74 | Lierinto is a joint venture between Meliá (30%) and Banca March. |
| Abbey Centre | retail | Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland | The Herbert Group | NewRiver | 320,000sqft | £59 (€70) | The deal reflects a net initial yield of c.9%. |
| two high-quality healthcare and community service properties | healthcare | Helsinki | Public Property Invest ASA | eQ Community and eQ Commercial Properties Fund | 13,520m2 | €63 | One property is a hospital providing specialist health services, fully leased to Mehiläinen on a 12-year remaining lease. |
| logistics asset | logistics | Paris | Aberdeen | Savills IM | 30,420m2 | €40 | This sale price reflects a yield of 4.7%. |
| six care properties | healthcare | Finland | Aedifica | NA | 233 beds | €37.5 | The initial rental yield amounts to over 6%. |
| World Trade Centre Almere | office | Almere, the Netherlands | Benkey | Kildare Partners | 33,000m2 | €37 | The multi tenant asset was delivered in 2010 and generates €5.5m in annual rents. |
| six assisted living facilities | living | Italy | Sereni Orizzonti | Codess | six assets | €30 | The acquisition is part of a €200m investment to expand the company’s portfolio. |
| business park | office | Frankfurt | Private investor | Sirius Real Estate | 33,452m2 | €30 | The deal represents an EPRA Net Initial Yield of 6.8%. |
| Merlin portfolio | mixed | UK | Custodian Property Income REIT | Merlin Properties | 28 assets | £22 (€26) | The portfolio generates an annual aggregate passing rent of £1.7m reflecting a net initial yield of c.8.1%, from 99% occupancy. |
| Länsiportintie 15 | logistics | Hämeenlinna, Finland | Logistea | NA | 21,726m2 | €25 | Faerch Finland Oy leases the entire property. |
| Logistic Park Manises | logistics | Valencia | Savills IM | Scannell Properties | 19,284m2 | €20 | The newly-constructed, fully-let asset was bought for a European logistics fund. |
| Connecta Park data centre complex | alternative | Düsseldorf, Germany | Principal Asset Management | NA | 36,429m2 | NA | Connecta Park is the sixth asset to be acquired for Principal European Data Centre Fund I, which raised €297m. |
| QBC3 | office | Vienna | ATL Immoinvest Group | Union Investment | 8,200m2 | NA | The building, which was completed in 2017, was acquired in 2016 as a development. |
| residential complex | living | Koblenz, Germany | Primus Valor | Domicil Real Estate AG | 68 units | NA | Primus Valor is acquiring the two portfolios on behalf of closed-end public AIF “ImmoChance Deutschland 12 Renovation Plus.” |
| Markgrafenpark asset | office | Berlin | PGIM Real Estate | Pimco | 14,000m2 | NA | PGIM Real Estate is planning a conversion, aiming to develop more than 300 apartments. |
| Visionary office building | office | Prague | NA | CA Immo | 25,500m2 | NA | The building generates annualized gross rental income of around €4.3m. |
| Les Miroirs | office | Courbevoie, France | Edge | Praemia REIM | 140,000m2 | NA | The asset was bought in 2016 for €168m. |
| Generatorn 4 and Generatorn 5 | mixed | Flemingsberg, Sweden | Delcore | Niam | NA | NA | The divestment is in line with the fund’s strategy to invest in well-located assets with strong cash flows and to crystallize value through active asset management. |
| commercial asset | logistics | Copenhagen | NREP | Castellum | 19,000m2 | NA | The buyer has plans to develop a 37000m2 sustainable logistics hub. |
| logistics asset in Nettetal | logistics | Nettetal, Germany | Irish Life Investment Managers, Aberdeen Investments | Verdion | 21,600m2 | NA | The newly developed facility previously formed part of Verdion European Logistics Fund 1 (VELF 1). |
| Assets on the market | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Broker | Key facts |
| 36 Queen Street | office | London | M&G Real Estate | 46,000sqft | £45 (€53) | JLL | The seven-storey asset is being offered at a discount of nearly 20% on the price originally paid by M&G. |
| Kingsgate shopping centre | retail | Huddersfield, England | WD Ltd | 280,000sqft | £36.2 (€43) | NA | The sale reflects a net initial yield of 10.5%. |
| Northern Quarter asset | office | Manchester | Pictet and XLB | NA | £22.5 (€27) | NA | The asset was bought in 2020. |
| Buckingham Palace Road portfolio | mixed | London | Grosvenor | 42,318sqft | ~£20 (€24) | JLL | There is immediate scope to increase the passing annual rent of £1,065,174 through asset management. |
| 16–18 New Bridge Street | mixed | London | The Estate Office | 23,082sqft | £18 (€21) | NA | The deal reflects a net initial yield of 6.8% and a low capital value of £780 per sq ft. |
| Zoned Residential Development Land at Flemington Lane | development | Balbriggan, Dublin | NA | 37.5 acres | €18.75 | Grimes | Parties with an interest are invited to submit a best bid prior to June 11, 2025. |
| The Electric Press | office | Leeds | DTZ Investors | 54,387sqft | £10 (€12) | Stockford Anderson | The offices have been recently let to The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. |
| Recently completed loans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
| Banco Santander | Grupo Lar, Blackrock | Torre Castelló | €306 | The loan supports the redevelopment of the former Treasury office complex (María de Molina 50) into a 20-story residential tower and a student residence, with a total investment of over €500m. |
| BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB and Société Générale | Praemia REIM and Grupo Lar | VIVIA portfolio in Spain | €191.5 | The loan is a five-year bullet mortgage facility, at 50%-LTV. |
| Global Hospitality Investment Group | Gruppo Statuto | Rome Edition | €96 | The senior secured financing permits Gruppo Statuto to refinance its existing development loan on the hotel, which opened in July 2023. |
| NA | SGM | Six shopping centres in France | €96 | The 15-year loan refinances Okabé à Le Kremlin-Bicêtre; Les Tanneurs à Lille; Espace Grand’Rue à Roubaix; Porte Jeune à Mulhouse; Galerie de l’Hôtel de Ville à Châlons-en-Champagne; Saint-Jacques à Metz. |
| K&H Csoport | Adventum | KÖKI Shopping Center in Budapest | €63 | Adventum Group acquired the retail project in 2019. |
| Canada Life | Global Gate | Mayfair offices | £35 (€42) | The loan supports Global Gate’s long-term strategy for the asset, which was acquired in an off-market transaction in late 2020. |
| PKO Bank Polski | Panattoni | Panattoni Park Zgierz II | €24 | The facility will house a central warehouse for a leading Polish cosmetics manufacturer and a distribution centre for one of the country’s top drugstore chains. |
| BayernLB, Stadtsparkasse München and Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg | Orplid GmbH & Co. KG | 300 apartments | NA | Construction has already begun, and the first apartments are expected to be completed by the end of 2026. |
| Funds on the market | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | Fund | Strategy | Details |
| Tritax | Tritax London Logistics Fund | Investing in Greater London multilet and last-mile assets. | The open-ended real estate has a target of £1.5bn. |
| The fund was seeded with a high-quality portfolio comprising 17 assets, 90% of which are in the Heathrow and West London areas. | |||
| Ardian and Rockfield | European student housing investment venture | Acquiring core-plus purpose-built student accommodation properties in high-demand European markets. | CBRE Investment Management has committed a further €300m to the fund. |
