Square Asset Management has just closed the acquisition of a portfolio of 10 Carrefour supermarkets in Spain, worth around 20 million euros. This is the manager's first major purchase in the neighboring country, advanced by Pedro Coelho, Vice President of Square AM, to Iberian Property.
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The supermarkets add up to a total of almost 15,000 sqm, and they were on the hands of the Supersol brand, who placed these 10 properties up for sale. 7 of them are located in the Andalucía region, in cities such as Cádiz, Marbella, Mijas, Jerez de la Frontera, among others. The other 3 are located in the Greater Madrid area.
Of this set, 8 properties will be held by the open-end fund CA Património Crescente, managed by Square AM. The other two will be in the Property Core portfolio, the fund managed in Banco Best's network.
The supermarkets have a 7-year contract with Carrefour. The operation recorded a yield above 7%.
Pedro Coelho explains that Square's objective with this operation is to «diversify investments, keeping our DNA of good tenant risk, contract term as long as possible, and trying to have a good entry yield, good price per square meter, and not forgetting location» . He points out that “in Spain, when commercial properties have VAT on the transaction, they do not pay transfer tax. Therefore, it is not for the fiscal part that one cannot invest in Spain». He believes that «we managed to fulfill everything we wanted in our “check-list”».
At the moment, the CA Património Crescente fund is the largest open-end fund in the national market, with an amount of 930 million euros under management, 100 million of which added this year alone, a figure that could increase in the coming months, as the fund has an available liquidity of between 60 to 70 million euros.
On the other hand, the Property Core, which is just over a year old, currently manages a value of 18 million euros, 10 million of which relating to real estate, an amount that "should increase soon", advances Pedro Coelho. The fund has an available liquidity of around 5 million euros.
Pedro Coelho further stated that «we are always open to opportunities and to make proposals. We are always looking for new opportunities in all sectors, apart from residential just because residential gives us lower income. We always want to have a diversified portfolio in everything: geographies, activities, sectors», he concludes.
