2022-01-25 0:00 CET, Spain | Investment Management | Press release
More than €9 million have been invested in the refurbishment of the former headquarters of the Institute of North American Studies Foundation, which will be occupied by Spaces, the coworking brand of the International Workplace Group (IWG).
Catella Asset Management Iberia (Catella AM) has completed the refurbishment of its building located at 123 Vía Augusta street in Barcelona, where the former headquarters of the Institute of North American Studies Foundation was located. The asset has been refurbished by Renta Corporación, the former owner of the building until it was sold to AVW European Real Estate Fund in 2021, with the advisory and management of Catella AM.
The property will be fully occupied by Spaces, the coworking brand of the International Workplace Group (IWG).
The renovation of the building, which has almost 4,000 square metres distributed over nine floors, includes an investment of more than €9 million. The works carried out on the building, designed by architect José María Bosch Aymerich, have respected the original design of the facade due to its uniqueness and have been developed with the highest standards of energy efficiency, reinforcing Catella AM’s and Renta Corporación's commitment to environmental sustainability.
The property has been provided with systems to reduce water consumption, as well as measures to recycle waste materials, and solar panels have been installed on the facade to produce renewable energy. In this way, the project has been awarded by the LEED Silver certificate, which proves the energy efficiency and the lower environmental impact of the property.
In addition, the building also has open spaces and more than 700 square metres of terraces and is characterised by its natural lighting on all floors, a factor that contributes to the well-being and health of its future users. The property also offers excellent views of the centre of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea.
Eduardo Guardiola, CEO of Catella AM, has said that "the demand for office space is prioritising quality, sustainability and location as never before and VIA AUGUSTA 123 is proof of this".
This deal represents, in the words of David Vila, CEO of Renta Corporación, "a commitment by the company to a sector in transformation such as the office sector in one of the main business areas of uptown Barcelona, where there is currently no high-performance coworking space as defined by Spaces". He also assured that "the new shared office space with customised offices has excellent public transport links, bicycle parking, landscaped terraces and large communal spaces, and includes a bar on the first floor for the exclusive use of clients".
Spaces brand new coworking centre
The pandemic accelerated the shift towards a new, more flexible way of working, further boosting the trend towards coworking models. In this sense, the Spaces brand, owned by the world leader in flexible workspaces IWG, reinforces its expansion in Barcelona with the opening of this new coworking centre and now has a total of five shared office spaces in the city. With this new flexible workspace, the British group IWG now has 14 coworking spaces in Barcelona through its three brands: Spaces, Regus and HQ.
About Catella AM Iberia
Catella AM Iberia is a subsidiary of Sweden's Catella AB focused on independent investment advice and management of investments in real estate assets, both on behalf of third parties and other Catella Group companies. Established in 2015, Catella AM currently manages around €700 million in assets in Spain and Portugal through various vehicles.
Catella AM Iberia has a team with extensive experience which allows it to manage the entire investment cycle, from opportunity identification, structuring of investment vehicles, acquisition, restructuring, financing, asset management and repositioning to eventual divestment of assets under management.
The Company specialises in various verticals, highlighting its investment and management capabilities in Residential for Lease, Offices, Student Residences, Logistics and Retail.
https://www.catella.com/es/espana/asset-management
For more information, please contact:
Carlota Vicén (+34 609609547)
COMCO