Metrovacesa

Metrovacesa S.A. is a major Spanish property company, headquartered in Madrid, which was the largest publicly-traded real estate developer in the Eurozone prior to the June 2007 creation of Unibail-Rodamco. The company is primarily focused on the leasing of a range of property in France and Spain, which comprises around 80% of its portfolio.

History

The origins of Metrovacesa can be traced back to 1918 and the foundation in Madrid of the construction firm Urbanizadora Metropolitana, which was one of three companies which merged in 1988 to form Metropolitana Vasco Central (Metrovacesa). The interests of the three constituent companies were largely confined to residential and office property, but the newly merged entity expanded across Spain and moved into other assets such as shopping centres and car parks. A merger with the housing development firm BAMI followed in 2000, and the group acquired a majority stake in Gecina, the largest French real estate company, in 2005.

Current activities

Metrovacesa's portfolio currently comprises a significant number of office blocks, business parks and housing for rent, located primarily in Madrid, Barcelona and Île-de-France, as well as around ten car parks, a similar number of hotels and two residences for the elderly located across Spain.

Recently, the company has branched into Düsseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany, as well as London. In April 2007 Metrovacesa made headlines by paying £1.09 bn for the 210 metre high HSBC skyscraper (8 Canada Square) in London's Canary Wharf complex, the biggest ever single-property deal in the UK.

On 14 September 2007 Metrovacesa announced their purchase of the new Walbrook Square development from Legal & General for the sum of £240m (€350m). They plan to invest a further €1400m, and have announced that all work will be completed by 2015. Metrovacesa will hold the rights for a 250 year lease.