Barcelona annual report
Competition for best assets intensifies
As liquidity increases in the market, investors are competing to finance the best assets, with the real
estate sector in particular offering some attractive deals
Marcel Enrich
New investors are pouring money into
the Spanish market with the result that
the competition to finance the highest
quality assets is intensifying, according
to Marcel Enrich, partner in Baker &
McKenzie´s Barcelona office.
“It´s all been about new money in
the last year,” he says. “There´s a lot
of liquidity in the market and there
is competition to finance good assets
– there has been a lot of activity in
the real estate sector, partly because
its fundamentals are less complex to
value.”
The increase in investor interest is
partly due to a revival in traditional
lending but also due to new players
such as international funds, which are
investing in equity and debt, according
to Enrich.
He adds: “With new players in the
market, the distinction between equity
and debt is becoming increasingly
blurred, with the result that companies
now have greater access to sources of
funding.”
There is also considerable interest
in a wider class of assets, Enrich says.
“Prices are going up and with different
funds and investors getting involved
we´re seeing the resurgence of auction
procedures.”
Enrich says the current state of the
economy represents a considerable
turnaround compared to the conditions
in recent years. “The Spanish market
was closed to investment in previous
years – investors were not interested
in Spain, but now many international
investors consider that Spain is
underinvested in their portfolios.”
There are other trends that give
reason for optimism, according to
Enrich. “We´re seeing increased
activity in the fields of project
finance and leveraged buy-outs,”
he says. Meanwhile, Enrich also
anticipates financing and refinancing
opportunities in the renewable energy
sector. “The market is growing, there
are more transactions and this is good
news,” he adds.
Spanish state and major banks facing more law suits
Javier Casals
During the last two years, court action
against the Spanish state and the country’s
largest banks has increased, according to
Javier Casals, managing partner at Casals.
“We work across the TMT, energy,
banking and corporate sectors, and we see
quite a lot of interest from many claimants
– particular medium and large-sized
companies – in pursuing litigation,” he
explains. Specifically, Ca ͅ