Square Asset Management, through the Portuguese fund CA Património Crescente, has acquired Building 1 of the World Trade Center Almeda Park, located in Cornellà de Llobregat, Barcelona, from UBS for approximately €41 million.
The property is located in the Barcelona metropolitan area and has a total floor area of around 15,000 sqm spread over five floors. It houses the Spanish headquarters of Cofidis, which occupies most of the building, as well as Egarsat on the ground floor.
The asset forms part of the first phase of the World Trade Center Almeda Park complex. Building number one was developed in 2003 alongside buildings two and three, as part of a complex that currently comprises more than 90,000 sqm of office space spread across seven buildings.
Cushman & Wakefield advised the seller, alongside Dentons and Uría Menéndez who provided support on legal and tax matters. Garrigues advised the buyer for legal matters while CBRE acted on the commercial aspects.
The acquisition fits in Square Asset Management’s growth strategy in Spain and follows another transaction carried out by the firm in Barcelona: the purchase of the headquarters of the Catalan Government’s Department of Social Rights and Inclusion.
Commenting on the transaction, Nuno Nunes, CIO of Square Asset Management, stated: "We are very happy to have completed our second acquisition of an office building in Barcelona in the time span of one year. We have great conviction on the fundamentals and strength of the Barcelona office market and its capacity to attract and retain both local and international occupiers".
Eusebi Carles, Partner in Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield, added that “this transaction highlights the strong confidence of international capital in the Barcelona office market, as well as the appeal of well-managed and well-located assets, with solvent tenants and long-term, stable lease agreements that guarantee visibility in the income stream”.
