The meeting, organized by the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) and the Iberian Property platform, will have the participation of large Spanish SOCIMIs such as Merlin Properties, Hispania, Colonial and Lar España, and will be held at the Villa Magna hotel in Madrid on next March 22.
According to Domique Moerenhout, CEO of EPRA, "SOCIMIs are a success story in Spain, although they are taking their first steps in comparison with the consolidated reality of REITs in Europe and the USA. In the main economies of the world, REITs are a long-term investment alternative, with the guarantee of professional management, in a preferential asset for all investors such as real estate. These meetings are part of the association's policy to promote our relationship with local associates and to facilitate the access of analysts of institutional investors, family offices and local mutuals to the possibilities offered by investment in this type of quoted real estate companies."
Another goal of this Iberian meeting is, on the one hand, to study how the Spanish real estate market has evolved in recent years, and what role SOCIMIs have played in capturing foreign capital; and on the other, analyze what impact can the regulation of REITs in Portugal have. This way, publicizing the successes and errors of Spanish regulation will contribute to the positive aspects of regulation may be reproduced in the neighboring country, avoiding errors that have been made in Spain.
EPRA also wants to present the SOCIMIs and REITs as strategic long-term partners for the large Iberian cities and main actors to execeute large urban developments. In this sense, will be analyzed the role that these companies can play in the development of the Castellana Norte District Project, as well as showing international examples that included the participation of reference REITs in Europe.
In this international conference will intervene, among others, Miguel Ferre, Senior Advisor of EY and one of the fathers of the current Spanish legislation about SOCIMIs, Cristina García-Peri, general director of Hispania, Carmina Ganyet, general corporate director of Colonial, as well as the presidents of Merlin Properties, Ismael Clemente, and Lar España, José Luis del Valle. The program will also have the vision of Benôit Dohin, representing Unibail-Rodamco, one of the largest REITs in Europe, as well as the opinion of several analysts and institutional investors.