HVB Group opened its real estate financing subsidiary HVB Real Estate Capital Iberia S.A. (HVB REC Iberia) in Spain. The company which will target commercial real estate customers will arrange large-scale commercial financings and structure large transactions and portfolios. HVB REC Iberia - headquartered in Madrid - currently has a staff of ten, headed by Tomas Fiege Vos de Wael and Markus Beran.
'HVB REC Iberia will establish the HVB Group as arranger for structured and complex financings in the commercial sector in Spain,' explains Georg Funke, executive divisional board member at HypoVereinsbank in charge of the bankÂ's international real estate operations. Establishing HVB Rec Iberia in Spain is part of the HVB GroupÂ's strategy to further expand its position in the market and in terms of competence in commercial real estate financing among its competitors in Europe.
Within the HVB Group, HVB Real Estate Capital is responsible for large-scale international real estate transactions. The company already maintains offices in France, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the U.S. Financings in other European countries are also handled at headquarters in Munich. In the past three years, HVB Group has more than doubled its portfolio of international real estate financings to more than 30 billion euros. In all, some 30% of all real estate loans are international.
In addition to its Spanish customers, HVB Rec Iberia plans to target international investors. Spain is one of the countries in the EU with the highest growth rates in the last 10 years. The real estate financing market is the fifth largest in Europe. Total investments in large-scale commercial real estate operations came to approximately 1.5 billion euros in both 2000 and 2001. More than 50% are international investors. Madrid and Barcelona are the main markets for office property. Demand is also strong for large shopping centers.
HVB Real Estate Capital Iberia S.A., a stock corporation under Spanish law, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HVB. To start with, HVB REC Iberia has total assets of five million euros. By 2006 the companyÂ's portfolio should total some three billion euros.
(source: HVB)
