The group Eroski has sold to the international fund Reit W. P. Carey Inc a total of twenty seven properties that house supermarkets of the distribution group for a total of 85.5 million euros.
According to the signed agreement, the cooperative group will maintain the activity of the supermarkets but on a rental basis until the year 2040.
It is an operation known in financial slang as sale & lease back that allows companies to opt for an alternative financing mechanism through the sale of their owned properties and their subsequent rental.
With this sale, Eroski partly alleviates its need for financing to fulfill the purpose of repaying the debt that it has contracted with several financial entities.
According to the agreement that the cooperative group signed with the bank last year, the term for the refinancing of 1,500 million of debt extends until 2024. In fact, the agreement with the bank itself included the “sale of non-priority assets” such as real estate, as well as the entry of financial partners in some of its subsidiaries.
Specifically, the portfolio whose sale has been known today adds up to a total of 45,000 square meters of surface and the amount of the transaction amounts to about 85.5 million euros.
Of the twenty-seven active companies, fourteen establishments are located in the Basque Country, nine stores are located in the Balearic Islands, three in Navarra and one in Cantabria.
“This operation highlights the interest that Eroski arouses in the financial market and demonstrates confidence in the solidity of our business project,” explained the Group’s Finance Director, Josà © Ramón Anduaga.
“We are delighted to be able to work once again with Eroski to be able to monetize this portfolio of high quality assets. We are a long-term investor who is always looking for the opportunity to support our tenants through operations like the one we are in. announcing “has declared Christopher Mertlitz, Chief Investment Officer of WP Carey, a fund that has already worked with the cooperative group on more occasions.
The consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield and DJV lawyers have been commissioned to advise EROSKI and Linklaters attorneys and Advisian by WP Carey.
Eroski currently has a commercial network of 1,645 establishments throughout Spain between supermarkets, hypermarkets and cash & carry; as well as gas stations, opticians, travel offices and sports equipment stores. It also has more than 6 million Customer Members and more than 33,657 cooperative members and workers.
Results in the pandemic
Like most food companies, the Covid-19 pandemic has not negatively affected Eroski in regard to this specific business, it has already closed the first semester of this year with a positive result of 48 million euros.
The total turnover was 2,412 million euros, which represents 7.2% more than in the first half of the previous year, especially highlighting the growth of the food business, where sales rose by 12%.
Food activity compensated for the reduction in activity in other business areas, such as travel agencies and gas stations, affected by the restriction of mobility derived from the pandemic.
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