Grupo Freo and BC Partners have announced the purchase of the Barcelona headquarters of the multinational Novartis, located in the heart of Barcelona, at Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes 764, with a view to upgrading it to prime status.
The plan is for the building to undergo a comprehensive refurbishment, as well as an internal and façade redesign to convert it into a modern and sustainable workspace of some 13,000 square metres.
The common areas of the building will include an auditorium, catering facilities, multi-purpose meeting rooms and three terraces, including a large roof terrace with spectacular unobstructed views over the city of Barcelona. The project also contemplates high sustainability and ESG standards.
BC Partners Real Estate and FREO were advised by Uría Menéndez, Savills, b720 Arquitectos and Mace. CBRE was the exclusive advisor to Novartis.
This asset, which has been the Spanish headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Novartis since the 1970s, is an emblematic building in Barcelona. Located in the Eixample district, close to the famous Sagrada Familia, in one of the most attractive areas of the city, the asset is located in the main strategic axis between Paseo de Gracia (Barcelona's CBD) and Plaza de les Glòries (Prime 22@).
Laurian Douin, partner at BC Partners commented on the deal: "We are very pleased to conclude BC Partners' first real estate investment in Spain with FREO and hope that it will be the first of many. We believe the deal has a defensive profile, as half of the space is pre-leased to a good tenant in a central location".
"In the unleased part we will carry out an attractive repositioning, it will be a sustainable, flexible office space with a range of multi-functional facilities that we are confident will attract new occupiers. This is the type of operation we are looking for to continue investing in Spain," he added.
Daniel Mayans, CEO of Freo, said that his company "celebrates a new acquisition of an emblematic building in Barcelona". "We are acquiring this project with a partner committed to investing in the Spanish market. Our objective is to continue to create the necessary value through the repositioning of this unique asset in this area of the city, as we have already done with great success in other properties", he added.
