PROPINVEST AND its partner Derek Quinlan have completed the €1.9 billion acquisition of Banco Santander's worldwide headquarters complex in Madrid in what is one of the largest acquisitions of its type ever completed in Europe.
Bank debt for the deal has been provided by a consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland, HSH Nordbank and Bayern LB.
The 165,000sq m (1.8 million sq ft) headquarters complex is on a 400-acre site in Boadilla del Monte, west of Madrid.
Banco Santander has taken a 40-year index-linked lease back on the buildings, with an initial annual rental income of €83 million.
The complex includes a hotel and golf course and the deal is believed to show an initial yield of around 4.5 per cent.
Banco Santander has been a significant part of the UK banking market since 2004, when its acquisition of Abbey National was approved by Brussels.
It brought its Madrid HQ complex to market in June 2007 as part of a €4 billion disposal programme of its commercial property assets to raise funds for a break-up bid for Dutch bank ABN Amro.
The ABN Amro deal was completed late last year for €72 billion with partners Fortis and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Quinlan previously joined with PropInvest to buy Citigroup's Canary Wharf headquarters for £1 billion from Royal Bank of Scotland in December 2007.
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