Hines, Universal Investment in €190m double Spanish purchase for BVK

The Houston-based real estate powerhouse and the Frankfurt-based asset manager have made two mixed-use assets, in Madrid and Barcelona, their eighth and ninth purchases for the €1.3bn mandate with Germany’s largest public pension fund. 

Hines and Universal Investment have acquired two Spanish real estate assets, on a behalf of a mandate with German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), for a combined price of €190 million.

Both acquisitions are prime high street retail assets, with extra office space, and represent the eighth and ninth purchases made on behalf of the two firms’ €1.3 billion retail mandate with €69 billion pension fund BVK, agreed in late 2015.

The first asset, totalling 50,000 square feet, is located in Calle Preciados, which is the busiest pedestrian street in Madrid. The asset was purchased for €100 million from Grupo Baraka, the Spanish investment firm.

The second property is located on Paseo de Gracia, in Barcelona, and was bought for €90 million from a private vehicle managed by Banco Popular, the Spanish bank – the property is the bank’s headquarters. Hines said it was intending to redevelop the asset, creating 50,000 square feet of prime office space and 30,000 square feet of prime retail space.

“Since being awarded the BVK mandate in Q4 2015, Hines has successfully acquired a number of high-quality retail assets in prime locations on high streets across European territories including France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Denmark,” said Lars Huber, chief executive offier of Hines Europe.

“The purchase of Preciados and Paseo de Gracia represents a great opportunity to further diversify BVK’s portfolio, as well as investing in a country that is potentially expected to grow at a high pace during the next years,” said Alexander Tannenbaum, managing director of Universal Investment.

Since signing the mandate with BVK, the partnership’s most notable acquisitions include the €630 million Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin; a €215 double high street purchase in Paris and Manchester; and a €119 million retail buy in Copenhagen, taking the total spend on behalf of the mandate beyond €900 million.

Aguirre Newman advised Hines on the acquisition of Preciados, while CBRE were the advisors in the Paseo de Gracia’s acquisition.