Spain’s Socimis Are Buying Up Supermarkets

Eroski CityLar España owns 22 supermarkets of the chain Eroski

Due to the resilience shown by the real estate sector during the pandemic, as well as tenant stability, Socimis have purchased supermarkets in Spain for an amount of 600 million euros so far this year. Mercadona and GM have sold portfolios of supermarkets for 180 and 152 million euros respectively. And there are operations pending for 200 million euros in the short term, according to real estate consulting firm CBRE.

With regard to the Socimis, both Merlin and Lar have supermarket portfolios. In the case of Merlin, its portfolio of Caprabo supermarkets included in the Net leases category only represents 1% of the company’s GRI. For its part, the portfolio of 22 Eroski supermarkets owned by Lar España accounts for approximately 4.8% of the company’s GRI and is held for sale (approximately 54 million euros in market value; capital gains of around 14%).

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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.