General de Galerías Comerciales, a company controlled by the Murcia-based businessman Tomás Olivo – one of Spain’s wealthiest individuals –, is finalising an agreement with Telefónica for the acquisition of the property located at 28 Gran Vía, Telefónica’s historic headquarters in Madrid.
According to the Murcia-based newspaper El Nuevo Digital, the businessman has been chosen by the telecoms multinational to take over the asset for a price over €200 million.
As reported last September, Telefónica’s expectations were very high at the time, with the asset being valued at between €250 million and €300 million.
The award marks the culmination of a competitive process that had attracted interest from international firms such as the US fund Bain Capital, the Italian insurer Generali, Peru’s Romero Group, the financier Rafael Serrano (Prime Investors Capital), as well as the Ardid family and the Drago Group. The bid by Tomás Olivo prevailed after several of these investment funds lost interest due to regulatory restrictions imposed by Madrid City Council.
The property holds the highest level of heritage protection in the city, requiring the preservation of its original architectural features. The building also faces significant urban planning restrictions, as its land is classified for infrastructural and cultural use rather than commercial or residential purposes, limiting any potential conversion into a luxury hotel or residential scheme. While up to 50% of the 32,000 sqm property can be used for cultural and educational activities, legal and administrative barriers make any change to more profitable uses highly complex. These restrictions, combined with the substantial restoration costs associated with the protected asset, reportedly reduced buyer interest and led to a lower final sale price, estimated at more than €200 million. The new owner will now need to negotiate with Madrid’s urban planning authorities to determine the building’s future compatible uses.
The building has undergone two major refurbishments in its history, in 1987 and 1992. During the most recent refurbishment, in the 1990s, the skyscraper was renovated to transform it into a smart building, with the Movistar flagship store occupying the ground-floor retail space.
Completed in 1930 and designed by Ignacio de Cárdenas, the skyscraper is situated in the very heart of Madrid and is one of the most iconic buildings on Gran Vía.
Standing at almost 90 metres tall, the building was constructed to house 40,000 automatic telephone lines, which were to replace Telefónica’s manual exchange on Calle Mayor, and also to accommodate the head office and the chairman’s office, now located in the Telefónica District in Las Tablas.
The building also houses Telefónica’s largest and most iconic shop in Spain, which was refurbished and reopened in September 2024. Covering some 2,800 sqm, the shop is expected to close following the sale of the property.
The businessman Tomás Olivo is the owner of General de Galerías Comerciales, a firm that manages nine centres in Spain, including Gran Plaza (in Roquetas de Mar, Almería), La Cañada (in Marbella, Málaga) and Parque Comercial Nevada (in Armilla, Granada). Tomás Olivo is also one of the major shareholders of Unicaja.
General de Galerías Comerciales, established in April 1995, manages shopping centres in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Canary Islands and the Region of Murcia, and plans to open one in Valdebebas (Madrid).
