The goal of this operation is to improve the company’s operational efficiency and to obtain liquidity.
This would allow the group to gather wall its teams in one single headquarters. One of the options to become El Corte Inglés’ new headquarters is Madrid’s calle Tomás Bretón 62, which already hosts Induyco, its former clothing subsidiary.
These facilities have 125.343 sqm and more than 10.000 of the group’s employees worked there at one time. Currently, the building is used for sewing and designing, as well as for office spaces for the company’s men, women and children’s fashion purchasing teams. If it moved to this new headquarters, El Corte Inglés would become neighbour to other multinationals such as Repsol, Amazon and Mahou San Miguel.
The group’s board is looking into several options to add value to the company’s real estate portfolio. El Corte Inglés would thus sell the Hermosilla offices, located in the barrio de Salamanca, between Goya and Alcalá. The buildings’ value could be around 200 million euro- El Corte Inglés had already started considering the moving of its offices in 2019, although it never came to a conclusion.
The company announced last month a new assessment of its assets, following the pandemic’s impact with a 1.76 billion euro depreciation when compared to 2020. El Corte Inglés big warehouses would be valued at 13.6 billion euro, 700 million euro less than the previous year, while the group’s offices would be valued at 926 million euro.
This approach appears one month before the group’s next shareholders’ general meeting, which will take place on the next 23rd of July where the company will announce its new strategic plan until 2026. The meeting’s agenda also includes the approval of the company’s accounts, with the first losses in the company’s history.
