Condis gives entry to the Portobello fund and sells its network of 30 stores in Madrid

New corporate operation in the Catalan large distribution sector. After the sale of GM Food (the former Miquel Alimentació) to the Swiss chain Coop, now it has been Condis Supermercats who has reorganized its shareholding with the incorporation of Portobello Capital, which has taken a minority stake in the company of the Condal family, which bills more than 800 million euros. In parallel, Condis has divested all the supermarkets it owned in Madrid by transferring them to two local chains.

These two transactions starring Condis and GM Food are added to the purchase of 50% of Caprabo by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretínský and the acquisition of 50% of Bon Preu from Josep Font by his brother and president, Joan Font, who now owns 100% of the chain. Thus, exactly in a period of two years, changes have occurred in the shareholding of the four main distribution groups based in Catalonia.

The entry of Portobello into Condis' capital, anticipated by Expansión, has been carried out through the Portobello Structured Partnerships Fund I and could have valued 100% of the family company at more than 250 million euros. In addition to Portobello, the chain's management team would have joined the shareholding. The three branches of the Condal family maintain a relevant position in the capital of the company based in Montcada i Reixac and managed by Manel Romero.

Along with the incorporation of a new partner, Condis has decided to put an end to its presence in Madrid and concentrate its presence exclusively in Catalonia; a withdrawal movement that Caprabo also had to carry out a few years ago. Condis had until now 30 supermarkets (with a sales area of 18,000 square meters) and two logistics platforms in the capital of Spain, which it has divided into two lots.

On the one hand, it has sold a package of 12 stores, those located in the north and center of the city, to Grupo Uvesco (BM Supermercados), which also keeps the Mercamadrid warehouse. In parallel, another 18 supermarkets, together with the Getafe logistics platform, will become establishments of Grupo Eco Mora (La Despensa). Sources from Condis assure that the new owners will subrogate all employees and will maintain their working conditions and seniority. Grupo Eco Mora will also supply the franchisees that Condis has in the central area.

Grupo Uvesco has 241 supermarkets in the Basque Country, Navarra, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, and Ávila. For its part, Grupo Eco Mora is a family business from La Mancha that operates with more than 100 points of sale in the provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Madrid, Cuenca, and Ávila.

Condis assures that these two operations will allow the chain "to remain a benchmark in the industry" and to take advantage of current trends that drive the distribution sector and proximity supermarkets in particular, such as the growing weight of fresh products and the ready-to-eat category. There are also structural factors that affect the business, such as the decrease in the number of people per household unit and digitalization, which has also led to the emergence of competing companies based on immediacy and the purchase of food through mobile applications. Condis, along with Caprabo, was a pioneer in the opening of an online store, CondisLine, which serves 50% of Catalonia.

The group founded by brothers Ramón, Antoni, and Xavier Condal Escudé in the 60s is currently managed by the various cousins who make up the second generation, led by Josep Condal Torrens ---current president of the chain and son of Antoni Condal---, Pilar and Carme Condal. The company has a network of 165 owned supermarkets and 452 franchised ones, with a strong presence in the province of Barcelona.

Condis invoiced 783.1 million euros in 2019, in which it obtained a net profit of 8.8 million. Its revenues, however, grew by 13% in 2020 coinciding with the pandemic and reached approximately 890 million, 13% more.

Portobello is a firm that manages some 1.4 billion euros and owns different investment vehicles. The fund with which it has entered Condis aims to offer companies financial resources alternative to debt, without taking control of the company. "This new Portobello strategy is characterized by offering broad flexibility to structure a tailor-made investment in each situation using different instruments such as minority equity positions, participating loans, preferred equity, convertible instruments, and other instruments or combinations thereof. Portobello seeks leading companies with clear growth plans, specific situations such as family successions, shareholding changes, or companies looking for alternative solutions to indebtedness," explains the Madrid-based firm. This August, Portobello has also acquired Legálitas.