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26 // iberian.propery / 2017
dossier// ISSUE: TOP IBERIAN Investors
The Iberian real estate market heated during
2015 and 2016, with investment volumes in-
creasing substantially, economic fundamentals
becoming more robust and financing further
available, which is driving investment in the
real estate sector.
Since investors demand is at a peak, the biggest
challenge at the moment is – and I believe
it will be in the near future - the shortage of
good quality assets, mainly prime properties,
so the next steps seem to be the recovery of
development or redevelopment (refurbishment,
expansion or change of use) of assets and land
acquisition. The main players are already starting
or planning development and redevelopment
projects in the main cities of Portugal and Spain.
This is the case, inter alia, of Sonae Sierra that
has a very ambitious investment plan of more
than € 750 million for the next 5 years in Iberia,
anchored by the McArthurGlenn Designer Outlet
in Malaga (Spain), the undergoing projects in
Portugal like the expansion of NorteShopping
in Porto, the refurbishment of Centro Vasco da
Gama in Lisbon, the refurbishment of CascaiSh-
opping in Cascais, the planned expansion of
Centro Colombo in Lisbon and the investment
plan of the Spanish REIT (Ores Socimi), where
Sonae Sierra is partnering with Bankinter and
the responsible for the real estate management.
Going forward, I am a believer that the main
driver for returns will be based on the accuracy
of asset management, so the strategywill have
to be based on the capacity to identify oppor-
tunities and to create value through proactive
redevelopment initiatives. This can only be pos-
sible with local management, with hands-on
experience, knowledge and a successful track
record that only an operational partner, with out-
standing management capabilities and capital
invested, like Sonae Sierra, is able to provide.
Alexandre
Fernandes
Sonae Sierra
Head of Asset
Management
Europe
The financial markets in the Spanish real estate
sector have been opening at a fast pace which,
alongwith a positive evolution of the economy,
has stimulated great investor appetite. Both the
creation of Socimis, which require investment
to create critical mass, and the massive entry of
liquidity, have added pressure to the ecosystem.
Consequently, the challenge lies in achieving
profitability in such a competitive market.
At Colonial, our main goal is to keep focusing
on a selective investment strategy in the office
segment, with a financial discipline that enables
us to remain shielded from downturns andwith
an important value-added component (“
prime
factory”
). We create yields based on an industrial
strategy of product or renovation, with rigorous
return and quality demands. These operations
are achieved by remaining very close to the
large market players, but above all to the own-
ers. We have closed deals with family offices
or insurance firms, who consider Colonial the
perfect partner to divest noncore assets, in
exchange for participation in a company with
prime office assets that is well diversified in
highly complementary markets such as Paris,
Madrid and Barcelona. The challenge in our
business, which is benefitting from a rise in real
rents, is to find product that is suitable for reno-
vation in order to offer our clients high quality,
eco-efficient buildings with flexible spaces and
the proper services.
Carmina Ganyet
Colonial
Corporate
Managing Director
«The challenge
lies in achieving
profitability in such a
competitive market»