The Barcelona tertiary real estate sector continues to attract the interest of international investors. This Thursday, the acquisitions of two office buildings that house the corporate headquarters in Barcelona of the advertising agency McCann and the pharmaceutical group Novartis have been announced.
Located in the 22@ district, at number 123 Ciudad de Granada street, the property that houses the creative teams of McCann in the Catalan capital has been acquired by the French fund Perial Asset Management, in an operation brokered by the consultancy Savills. The seller is the German fund Patrizia, which bought the 2,740 m² building in 2019. "This completely renovated asset, Leed Platinum, and strategically located in the prime area of 22@, has aroused great interest from investors, demonstrating the prominence of 22@ in our market," explained Carlos Bajo, Director of Offices at Savills in Barcelona.
In parallel, Novartis has closed the sale of its corporate headquarters in Barcelona to the German real estate company Freo and the investment group BC Partners, which thus makes its debut in the Barcelona real estate market, in a transaction that some sources estimate at close to 40 million euros. This is a sale & leaseback operation, which means that Novartis will continue to occupy the building under a rental agreement, although it will not occupy it in its entirety.
BC Partners Real Estate and Freo plan to invest 15 million euros in the renovation of Novartis' historic headquarters in the Catalan capital, located at number 764 Gran Via, at the confluence with Cerdeña street, very close to La Monumental. The complex has an area of 13,000 square meters and, for its update and modernization, the Barcelona architecture firm b720, led by Fermín Vázquez, has been hired. Among other actions, the renovation includes the creation of an auditorium and the opening of several terraces. Novartis is expected to occupy half of the building after the remodeling.