Chinese Group buys former Telefonica headquarters in Barcelona for €56 million

Barcelona (ACN).- Chinese Group Platinum Estates has purchased the former headquarters of Telefonica in Barcelona, located in the Eixample neighbourhood, for €56.4 million, according to a statement by Renta Corporación, which managed the transaction. Furthermore, investors will allocate €45 additional million to transform the building, once belonging to the first telecommunications company in Spain, into a block of flats. The building was known as the ‘Edifici Estel’ (The Star Building) and it is located on the Roma Avenue. It was the propriety of Cerep Investment, a company controlled by private equity Group Carlyle, until it went bankrupt in the spring of last year. The buyer is a family group based in Hong Kong, which is part of Platinum Estates and is led by textile tycoon Harry Mohinani, of Hindu origin. In the last few weeks, prominent international investors have been buying properties in the Catalan capital, such as a fund from Qatar or the US hotel group Hyatt, the latter through a local partner.

Renta Corporación, accompanied by its investment partner, submitted a bid for the property in an auction held by the bankruptcy management committee last October. The transaction was signed by the President of Renta Corporación, Luis Hernández de Cabanyes, as well as by Harry Mohinani from Platinum Estates and his partner and representative in Spain, Businessman Juan Luis Segalerva. The law firm Garrigues has provided legal advice on the transaction.