The existing liquidity in the market and the high valuations of the buildings are the main causes of this recovery, according to the consultant, which assures that there is "a pipeline of operations that would amount to more than 4,000 million euros, of which up to 3,600 million could materialize during 2022".
However, the transactions of this type of assets registered throughout the past year only accounted for 3% of the European market, with Germany and the United Kingdom being the countries that bring together the largest share of investment, with 24% and 22%, respectively.
Hence, Javier Garcia Mateo, partner in charge of real estate in the area of strategy and transactions at EY, affirms that, in 2021, the Spanish office market "has not existed for Europe". In fact, this sector weighed less than the investment in the logistics segment, whose assets were involved in 29% of the transactions; "something historical", in his opinion.
At the local level, investment in offices has been made mainly in Barcelona and Madrid, although it is the Catalan capital that has received the most capital, reaching 1,634 million euros, compared to the 930 million raised in Madrid.
Among the most important operations in Barcelona, stands out the purchase of KanAm Grund from Axa of a portfolio of offices leased to the Generalitat de Catalunya for 280 million, the largest transaction in the sector in Spain during the past year and number 21 on the continent . The next major operation in our country was the acquisition, by Realia, of 37% of Hermanos Revilla (with a significant portfolio of offices in Madrid) for 189 million.
Madrid, an attractive market
The study also shows that in Madrid there are more than a million square meters of empty offices outside the M-30 ring road. And it points to the "necessary collaboration between the public and private sectors to design a city project that continues to attract investors in this area, structuring mobility between the M30 and the M40", explains Ivan Azinovic, partner in charge of real estate at EY.
Among the future projects of the capital that create more expectations in the investment market, EY highlights the Méndez Álvaro area, which already has 300,000 sqm of exclusive offices and it is estimated that the figure of 500,000 sqm will be reached; and Madrid Nuevo Norte, with 1.2 million sqm of building space, of which 81% will correspond to offices and 19% to residential.