HIG’s North American investors enter with 40% in the construction of the Madrid audiovisual hub, the largest set in the EU

The HIG fund breaks into the construction of Madrid Content City, a hub audiovisual that rises around the facilities that Netflix already uses in Tres Cantos.

The real estate plan, promoted by the Secuoya Group, consists of building a 140,000-square-meter business park through Roots Real Estate, a company led by the producer’s leading partners, Raúl Berdonà © and Pablo Jimeno. They would see their stakes in Roots reduced to give entry to HIG, which takes 40% of the company, according to EL MUNDO from sources close to the negotiations. Thus, Berdónes would control 43% and Jimeno 17%, so that HIG holds the aforementioned 40%. The agreement was signed at the end of last December.

The entry of HIG is carried out through a capital increase and gives Roots a financial benchmark for future set-ups in Latin America, an option that is being considered given the implantation of the Secuoya production company in countries such as Mexico or Colombia.

Madrid Content City contemplates the creation of a dozen studios, three office buildings, a university for 7,000 students, a student residence with 250 beds, five restaurants, 18 auxiliary warehouses and a commercial area, among other services.

Initially, the development of the building was carried out solely by the San Josà © Group, but two have ended up being added construction companies, FCC and Sacyr, the latter in charge of the university campus, according to sources familiar with the project. Madrid Content City should finish its works in the second half of next year. In December 2019, the project was inaugurated with the presence of Isabel DÃaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid.

The goal of this hub where industry and training converge is to position itself as the second largest audiovisual production center in Europe, Just behind Pinewood’s British Studios, west of London. In this sense, Madrid Content City would be the largest Spanish-speaking and EU production center, ahead of Cinecittà in Rome and Cite du Cinema in Paris.

All this complex is created around the Netflix facilities in Madrid, a landing in Spain by the giant of the streaming that advanced this newspaper. Thus, the production company Secuoya has positioned itself as partner of Netflix in the provision of audiovisual services for its sets in Madrid, where series such as The paper house.

This location north of the capital was known as the City of Televisions and was later renamed Secuoya Studios. In the same area and with Netflix as a claim, this entire audiovisual pole of Madrid Content City would be shaped, which already attracts foreign investment.