El Corte Inglés is bringing forward its Christmas present. The department store giant has bought a 3,100 m2 building in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, specifically at number 9, for an amount that has not been made public, according to various media reports. The asset, until now owned by the U.S. fund Kennedy Wilson, has four floors and the company intends to reopen it and expand its commercial offer in the area.
El Corte Inglés does not rule out joining it to building number 10 in the square, also owned by the company. El Corte Inglés has several assets in the area through its stores in Preciados and Callao, a commercial premises at number 6 Maestro Victoria and an outlet next to Plaza del Carmen.
The department store group plans to remodel the building and then open the doors to the public, although the commercial use it will have has not yet been decided. Thus, Plaza del Sol and Callao will become the second busiest commercial axis for El Corte Inglés, only behind Castellana and surpassing Pozuelo.
The group currently values its real estate portfolio at 16,000 million euros. Of this, 13,920 correspond to its department stores, while the rest is divided between offices, with 800 million euros; logistics, with 640 million euros, and other assets such as supermarkets or land totaling another 640 million euros.
Source: Idealista.com
