Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group, through its second European Real Estate fund, and real estate developer Therus Invest have agreed in joint venture to acquire a land site located in eastern Madrid on calle Alcala 540 next to the Julian Camarillo business area and within 5 minutes of the Campo de las Naciones business area.
Many blue chip companies such as Telefónica, BBVA Financia, Banco de Espana, and the El Pais newspaper are already located in the area. Carlyle and Therus intend to develop a 30,000 m² high-tech office building on the site consisting of a ground floor plus 4 levels and underground parking. The acquired site, measuring 9,900 m², is in an excellent location 150 meters from the Torre Arias metro station which links directly to downtown Madrid. The future office building will benefit from good connections by car and by public transportation to both the Madrid city center and to the airport.
In the terms of the joint venture between Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners II and Therus Invest, both entities will invest in the acquisition, and Therus Invest will be the Development Manager for the project.
This is the second investment in Spain by Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners II, a €760 million fund managed by The Carlyle Group. In November 2005, Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners II acquired Gran Via 68, a landmark building located two blocks from Plaza de España in Madrid.
Rachel Lupiani, Associate Director, The Carlyle Group said: "We are very pleased to make our second investment in Spain. We believe there is great potential in the Spanish market, and we are actively evaluating a number of development projects and joint venture opportunities in the country."
Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners II was closed in September 2005 with €760 million in commitments. It is now over 50% invested and committed in properties and development sites in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and the U.K. Carlyle's European real estate strategy focuses on investing in off-market real estate assets across Europe, including city centre and suburban office markets, warehousing and logistics, retail, residential and hotel, and adding value through repositioning and refurbishments.
Therus Invest was created one year ago by Olivier Crambade, the former General Manager of Nexity Spain. Therus's main focus is developing Retail and Office projects throughout Spain.
Financing for the acquisition was provided by Hypo Real Estate Bank International.
Source: The Carlyle Group
