Mutualidad de la Abogacía, has announced the sale of the emblematic BBVA headquarters, located at 12 Gran Vía in Bilbao, to ARGIS.
The transaction has been closed for close to €150 million, resulting in a significant capital gain for Mutualidad de la Abogacía.
The building is BBVA’s regional headquarters in Bilbao and the bank’s most important branch. Built in 1923, it has a surface area of 21,093 m2 divided into seven floors, a ground floor and two basements. The building underwent a comprehensive refurbishment in 2009 and has been BREEAM® certified since July 2021. The transaction also includes 167 parking spaces located in three sites in the vicinity of the property: Calle Ledesma 15, Calle Henao 5 and Calle Uribitarte 13. The asset is under lease to BBVA until 2045.
Rafael Navas, managing director of Mutualidad de la Abogacía, said, “The sale of BBVA’s Bilbao headquarters is one of the best examples of our investment strategy, which is based on asset rotation with the aim of generating significant returns for our members.”
Alejandro Schuvaks, partner and co-founder of the ARGIS fund, said, “The purchase of this asset is a very important milestone in the history of ARGIS and consolidates us as one of the leading real estate investors in Spain. The asset is truly spectacular and provides many possibilities for alternative uses such as retail and hotel, which we can easily explore thanks to the vertical integration with ARGIS Living, our developer.”
Tornos Abogados advised ARGIS with Real Estate and Urban Planning teams, coordinated partner and head of the Real Estate department Manuel Matías Bellido, together with Real Estate lawyer Fiona Olivet, Urban Planning partner Gloria Bardají and Urban Planning lawyer Alejandro Rodríguez.
Ugarte & Rebollo Abogados advised on Tax matters with managing partner Luis Ugarte, along with associates Carlos Pastrana and Javier Parejas, and junior associate Daniel Iglesias.
The advice was provided on the Due Diligence process, as well as on the acquisition and financing phase of the deal.
