ActivumSG completes Spanish-powered land play sale to DAMAC Group, unlocking a €400 investment opportunity

• The 240,000 sq. ft site has been sold following ActivumSG’s Spanish team securing a 40MW agreement to connect the site to a nearby power source
• Transaction represents ActivumSG’s second ‘powered land’ exit in the last three months as the firm capitalises on opportunities in the data centre market
• ActivumSG sees further opportunity in acquiring strategically located sites across Europe where value can be enhanced by preparing them for data centre development

15th October 2024: Leading pan-European real estate private equity manager ActivumSG has on behalf of ActivumSG Fund VII, announced the sale of a prime powered land site in Madrid, Spain, to EDGNEX, the data centre arm of DAMAC Group. The total investment by DAMAC Group to deliver a data centre on the site will exceed €400 million.

Located 15km from Madrid’s city centre, the asset is in the fastest-growing data centre market outside the ‘FLAPD’ (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin) Western European data centre investment hotspots. The site occupies one of the few remaining plots of land in Madrid that can be connected to a power source of the level required to fuel sizeable data centre operations feasibly. After securing the 240,000 sq. ft site in 2022, ActivumSG leveraged its in-country expertise to confirm power rights for 40MW ahead of the acquisition. Highly favourable terms were negotiated with the supplier that guarantee 10MW immediately, with an additional 30MW by Q1 2026, while incorporating significant power infrastructure.

Today’s announcement marks the latest disposal as part of ActivumSG’s ‘powered land’ strategy, in which the firm purchases a site with potential for data centre use, brings power to the land, and then sells it to a specialist data centre operator/developer. In July 2024, the firm completed a similar transaction, selling a 190,000 sq. ft site in Madrid to data centre developer and operator Pure DC for €11 million.

Brian Betel, Head of Direct Transactions, ActivumSG, said: “Our powered land strategy provides our investors with a de-risked entry point into the mega-trend of digitalisation, which is reshaping demand for real estate globally, while helping facilitate major investment needed to deliver the infrastructure required to fuel the AI revolution.    The 40MW power agreement secured for this site by our in-country team combined with excellent redundancy served to further differentiate this asset in what is already a severely supply-constrained local market.” 

Hussain Sajwani, Founder of DAMAC, said: “The acquisition of this asset – our first planned data centre site in Europe – will help to plug the data centre supply-demand mismatch in Madrid and support the development of groundbreaking technologies.  Our continued significant investment in digital infrastructure and AI reflects our deep conviction in the opportunity offered by technological innovation. This is an increasingly important part of our diversified investment portfolio and our future ambitions as a Group level.”

Saul Goldstein, CEO and Founder of ActivumSG, said: “We pride ourselves on a flexible investment mandate and opportunity-led strategy. This sale is a testament to ActivumSG’s ability to leverage its deep local relationships, agility and execution prowess.  While powered land investments can be technically complex, our talented team in Spain has now completed two of these transactions with outstanding results.“

ActivumSG sees further opportunity to acquire strategically located sites across Europe where value can be enhanced by preparing them for data centre development and operations.

Other recent transactions by ActivumSG in Spain include:

• The portfolio sale of three shopping centres in Caceres, Madrid and Barcelona for a combined sum of €140 million.
• Palacio Solecio, formerly a 230-year-old Andalusian palace in Málaga transformed into a luxury boutique hotel, sold for €51 million.

About ActivumSG | www.activumsg.com

ActivumSG is one of Europe’s largest independent real estate investment managers, with a proven track record of value-add and opportunistic strategies. With professionals in Germany, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, ActivumSG executes a multi-sector specialist investment strategy, investing across the capital stack via direct real estate, corporate platforms and special situations. Founded by ex-Cerberus private equity real estate veteran Saul Goldstein, ActivumSG has raised close to €3 billion in discretionary capital. Including affiliated entities and its advised funds’ portfolio companies, the ActivumSG ecosystem directly and indirectly advises on over €15bn in real estate and real estate-related investments. 

For media enquiries email: activumsg@montfort.london