Ferrovial Inmobiliaria to found a company to develop real estate promotion in Chile

Ferrovial Inmobiliaria to found a company to develop real estate promotion in Chile

Ferrovial Inmobiliaria, a leading firm on the national real estate market belonging to the Ferrovial Group, has incorporated a company on a 50% basis with the local real estate group Quiñenco - from the Luksic Group - to develop residential real estate in Chile. The company, called Habitaria, S.A., was incorporated with a stock capital of 3,000 million pesetas and has four projects under way, with 917 homes, in Santiago Centro, Valparaíso, El Golf and La Florida. The company will concentrate its activity, from the offset, in Chile and, once that phase is consolidated, will begin expansion to other Latin American countries. The new company has been founded with the aim to become a leader on the Latin American real estate market and foresees sales amounting to 22,500 million pesetas in the coming three years.

Habitaria gathers the potential of a such a real estate group as Ferrovial Inmobiliaria, that had already begun its expansion in the country with two promotions, and the knowledge and strength of the Luksic group, on the Latin American real estate market. Both groups have studied the market in Chile and Latin America and have decided to begin their activity jointly in that country due to the importance of the local partner. Later, Habitaria will develop is presence in other Latin American countries, aiming at taking a position as a regional leader.

Habitaria bids on residential promotion aimed at the average customer, quality design and projects, presentation of complementary services and differentiation through a clear policy of brand creation.

The new company will operate on a real estate market that is in full stage of consolidation, on which major promotion firms are already present, where there is a strong presence of institutional investors, participation by foreign investors and a great specialisation and competition. The decision to invest in real estate in Chile through a joint venture, that gathers the local experience, capacity and potential of its partners, also explains its potential for growth and profitability, with the demand for homes increasing in the coming years.

The real estate partners

Ferrovial Inmobiliaria, belonging to the Ferrovial Group, is a leading firm on the Spanish residential real estate market, with sales of more than 22,700 million pesetas in 1997, and more than 30,000 million pesetas forecast for 1998. In recent years, Ferrovial Inmobiliaria has maintained a strategy that concentrates on its growth in the residential sector, where it is one of the leading real estate firms in the country in sale of homes; the progress and consolidation of its geographic diversification and extension of its products, which it materialised a few months ago by purchasing Lar 2.000, which concentrates on the residents association segment.

In Spain, Ferrovial Inmobiliaria develops promotions in the main Spanish cities, such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Granada, Tenerife, Santander, etc., and also has the status of main owner in the town planning scheme of Sanchinarro, where construction of 12,700 homes is foreseen in the next eight years. Abroad, it has promotions in Lisbon and Cascais and, before its agreement with Quiñenco, Ferrovial had begun two residential promotions in Chile, with an investment of 1,500 million pesetas.

Quiñenco is a company in the Chilean corporate group Luksic, with an important stake on the local real estate market, with residential promotions in Santiago and Valparaíso. Luksic is a strong corporate group with knowledge of the financial markets, with presence in various sectors and an important position in other countries in that catchment area. Quiñenco is a company which is listed on the Chilean and American Stock Exchanges and has 165,000 million pesetas in assets.