On 11 February, Capital & Corporate and Iberian Property joined forces to launch the first edition of Spanish Real Estate Vehicles & Financing, hosted at Fundación PONS in Madrid. Designed as an invitation-only oval session, with the support of BNP Paribas Real Estate, Clifford Chance, and Hines, the initiative gathered 50 senior leaders from Spain’s real estate and financial sectors, creating a focused environment for strategic debate at a moment when capital markets are recalibrating expectations.
Within this high-level forum, Hines — represented by Vanessa Gelado, Market Head of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece — played a central role in framing the debate around vehicles, capital discipline and long-term positioning in Spain.
Vanessa Gelado opened the discussion by revisiting the SOCIMI regime. While acknowledging the political “noise” that continues to surround the vehicle, she underlined its structural relevance. SOCIMIs were instrumental in Spain’s post-crisis recovery and, despite regulatory adjustments over time, remain effective capital aggregation platforms. “The vehicle may tax at 0%, but the shareholder does pay,” she noted — a nuance often lost in public debate. After taking Lar España private, her firm chose to maintain the SOCIMI structure, reaffirming confidence in the model.
Around her intervention, the broader conversation reinforced the importance of structural clarity and alignment. Participants agreed that Spain today offers a sophisticated range of investment vehicles and tax frameworks, yet stability and predictability remain essential to sustaining international capital flows. Regulatory debate, while persistent, is increasingly seen as something markets can absorb — provided the rules are clear and consistently applied.
The discussion naturally evolved towards capital allocation and return expectations. As core capital cautiously re-enters the market, competition from private credit and infrastructure strategies is intensifying. In this context, Vanessa Gelado raised a fundamental question: does core real estate still justify its place in institutional portfolios when alternative asset classes can offer 7–10% returns with clearer cash-flow visibility? Her reflection captured a wider sentiment in the room — that real estate must work harder to defend its allocation.
Financing conditions and underwriting discipline were also examined. While living segments continue to attract liquidity, rising capital expenditure, land costs and construction inflation are tightening feasibility margins. Rental growth remains the decisive variable, but cost control and structuring efficiency are increasingly determining who ultimately captures value.
Regulation in the residential sector formed another axis of debate. Vanessa pointed out that intervention in parts of Northern Europe is significantly more restrictive, suggesting Spain’s framework, while imperfect, is not uniquely burdensome. The ability to adapt operational models — including full-building management and flexible living formats — was highlighted as a competitive advantage in navigating evolving rules.
The final exchanges returned to alignment between investors and managers. Fee structures, deployment pressure and the balance of risk between GPs and LPs are under sharper scrutiny in today’s environment. Scale, negotiation power and disciplined capital deployment are becoming differentiating factors for global platforms such as Hines.
Across the session, one underlying conclusion emerged: Spain’s fundamentals — tourism, demographic momentum and international capital appeal — remain intact. Yet performance will increasingly depend on vehicle sophistication, regulatory navigation and disciplined execution. In that equation, Hines positioned itself not only as a capital allocator, but as an active participant in shaping the structural evolution of the Spanish market.
