As stated in the notification sent to BME Growth, the Socimi did not comply during 2020 or as of June 30, 2021 with the requirement that more than 80% of its income come from third parties, as provided in the regulations specific for socimis.
This breach -explains the statement- derives from the fact that the lease that the Socimi has signed with Banco Santander is equivalent to more than 99% of Uro's income and, since the acquisition of 85% of the company's capital stock by the entity chaired by Ana Patricia Botín, in September 2020, it cannot be considered as a third party with respect to Uro.
The Socimi regime allows companies to remedy this requirement during the fiscal year following the one in which the breach occurs, but - as the company claims - "there has been no viable option that has made it possible to remedy said breach." Consequently, as of December 31, 2021, Uro Properties has lost its status as a Socimi.
The statement also explains that the directors of Uro already included provisions for corporate tax expense in 2020 and in the six-month period ended June 31, 2021, which amounted to 9.4 million euros and 4 , 3 million euros respectively, since they anticipated that the non-compliance with the third-party income regulations would not be corrected before December 31, 2021.
Another consequence of the loss of Socimi status is that it constitutes a cause for mandatory repayment of the loan contract signed on June 5, 2015 between Uro and Silverback Finance. For this reason, the company has sent Silverback Finance and BNP Paribas Trust Corporation UK Limited, which acts as loan guarantee agent, a notification confirming the loss of its status, together with a notice of early repayment, in accordance with the provisions of the conditions of the loan.
The company has also indicated that it intends to repay the outstanding principal and interest of the loan on February 21, 2022, and explains that Santander has offered to make available the necessary funds to satisfy the pending payment obligations.
