DESCRIPTION

Emblematic building located in one of the most exclusive areas of Madrid, between Serrano Street and Paseo de la Castellana, in the heart of the Salamanca neighbourhood.

The Serrano building was built in 1899 while the Castellana building was built in 1926 as an extension of the previous building and was the former headquarters of the ABC Newspaper.

Zambal Spain Socimi acquired in 2013 the ABC Serrano shopping centre, being a neighbourhood shopping centre, anchored by a supermarket, suffering from reduced natural lighting and vertical communication between the six floors. The building has an GLA of approximately 15,000 m² distributed over 6 floors and benefits from pedestrian access from both Paseo de la Castellana and Serrano Street, two of the main arteries of the city. In order to reposition the centre as a modern fashion and leisure centre, a major reconfiguration and renovation project was required, combining the tradition of its exterior architecture with an avant-garde interior design.

THE INTERVENTION: VALUE ADD

In such a heterogeneous building, in which each facade presented a dissimilar constructive solution, each of the interventions had to be studied in a particular and specific way. Keeping in mind the building´s high degree of historical protection, the works carried out had to be absolutely respectful with the original state of the building.

The rehabilitation process was structured in two phases, a first one focused on the most urgent elements and a second one with the rest of the intervention. Great importance was given to creating a process of conceptual renovation and interior design, which allowed this space to become a key point in the commercial axis of the Golden Mile, between Serrano and Ortega y Gasset streets.

The refurbishment focused mainly on improving the standards of the building. In addition, all installations were replaced and units remodelled to meet the needs of the new retailers. It included the creation of a central luminous core that provide natural light to all floors and relocated and enhanced vertical communication to improve passage and connectivity within the building.

The reconfiguration works aimed not only to improve the layout and circulation within the mall, but also to change and increase the quality of the tenant composition. Likewise, in the same line of renovations of the centre, the second stage also included a change in the corporate image, which reflected the brand’s values and allowed a more accurate connection with the customer’s profile.

DIVESTMENT

At the beginning of 2016 and during the refurbishment of the building, part of the property was transferred to CBRE GI. In May 2017, the refurbishment work on the centre was completed and, in October 2017, a sale and purchase agreement was signed with an institutional investor. Once the sale of the building was formalized, the investment achieved results well above those foreseen in the Business Plan, with an IRR more than twice as high as expected.

IBA Capital Partners was in charge of the management of the property until October 2022.