MERLIN Properties expands its presence in Portugal

MERLIN Properties Socimi, S.A., (“MERLIN Properties”) (MC:MRL), the largest real estate company listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange, specialized in the acquisition and management of commercial real estate in the Iberian region, has announced today the acquisition of two properties located in Lisbon, the Monumental building and the Tower of the office complex Torres de Lisboa; expanding its presence in the Portuguese capital.

The Monumental building, is an emblematic property in Lisbon, located in the heart of the financial district in Duque de Saldanha square. The building is a mixed-use property with GLA of 22,387 sqm divided in 16,892 sqm of office and 5,495 sqm of retail space.

The office component is distributed in 12 stories and is current leased at 89% to several national and international companies such as KPMG, Marsh and Mercer. The retail space counts with 41 retail units and is occupied at 98% by national and international operators.

The property was built in 1993 and, according to the business plan envisaged by Merlin, it is foreseen a full refurbishment of the property, including the complete renovation of the façade and the installations of the building, with aim to position the asset as a reference in Lisbon CBD.

The Tower A, comprises 13,715 sqm above ground of office GLA distributed in 16 story and is currently fully let to the multinational energy company Galp, one of the largest listed Portuguese companies with a market capitalization of € 9 billion and with sales above € 17 billion.

The Tower A is part of the consolidated office Business Park Torres de Lisboa that counts with 8 buildings (7 office building and 1 hospital), over 70,000 sqm and 1,683 parking units. The office complex is located in the ring road of Lisbon, with excellent visibility and the next to the main communication axis, and

The aggregate price of the transaction amounts to € 103 million, fully disbursed with equity. The acquisition price implies a 7.4% gross yield and 6.5% net initial yield (in accordance with EPRA).

With this transaction, MERLIN increases its portfolio in Lisbon to 3 buildings with a GLA of 42,842 sqm, an average of occupancy of 95.3%.