Metropolis buys one of the most unique buildings in 22@ from the Bernat family

New sale and purchase operation of an office building in Barcelona's 22@ district. One day after the purchase of the One Parc Central complex was announced, the Catalan investment group Metropolis has announced the acquisition of Diagonal 123, an iconic building designed by French architect Dominique Perrault and originally promoted by the real estate company Habitat, but whose construction was completed by Hines. In 2010, the Bernat family, founders of Chupa Chups, bought the complex through their patrimonial company, Bernat Family Office (BFO), and now divests by transferring the asset in an operation valued at 55 million euros.

The Bernat brothers, who sold Chupa Chups to Perfetti van Melle in 2006, also own Casa Batlló, one of Barcelona's main and most profitable tourist attractions. Before the pandemic, in 2016, Casa Batlló earned 28.3 million euros from ticket sales, with a net profit of 12.6 million.

Diagonal 123 has an area of 10,170 square meters and 240 parking spaces. Until a few months ago, it housed Vodafone's headquarters in Catalonia, but now 50% of the building is empty. Metropolis's goal is to take advantage of this vacancy level to subject the building to a significant renovation project to reposition it in the market and adapt it to the new needs of companies. The purchase operation of Diagonal 123 has been financed by CaixaBank and brokered by Jones Lang Lasalle, Cushman & Wakefield, TBA Facilities, Cuatrecasas, and Deloitte Legal.

According to Metropolis, this acquisition has been executed with funds raised in the last capital increase that closed at the end of 2019 for 77 million euros. This operation allowed new shareholders to enter the investment vehicle, in which many Barcelona business families participate. Metropolis, which thus reaffirms its commitment to 22@, was founded in 1992 and its real estate investment portfolio is distributed among Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and in German and Polish cities.

This sale was announced days after the DSW fund announced the purchase from Värde Partners of the One Parc Central office towers for 128 million euros. A few months ago, another German fund, Patrizia, paid 72 million euros for the Diagrame office building, also under construction in 22@.