Santander buys back branches. The entity chaired by Ana Botín has repurchased a portfolio of 380 branches from the French insurer AXA IM, as reported by El Confidencial.
The agreement amounts to about 300 million euros and the repurchase is explained because Santander thus avoids paying the rental income of the offices, which has skyrocketed with the increase in inflation. In fact, Bbva made a similar move in the first quarter of the year with the repurchase of 659 branches from Merlin Properties for 1,987 million euros.
The portfolio now repurchased by Santander was acquired by Axa in the spring of 2015 for 308 million euros. This portfolio was part of the 1,136 offices that Santander transferred to the socimi URO Property before its sale. It is a portfolio with offices in different parts of the Spanish market.
Axa's plans included organizing a formal tender for the sale of the portfolio, but Santander had a priority right, which it has finally decided to execute due to the significant savings that come with having ownership of the branches again.
