US Fund Cerberus said to be investing €220m in Sotogrande

World-famous sport and leisure amenities at Sotogrande include a beautiful marina, five golf courses and a polo ground

Although details of the deal are still few and far between, according to reports, giant US investment fund, Cerberus Capital Management L.P. – which is headquartered in New York and whose acquisitions also include a portfolio of bank branches bought from Caja Madrid in 2010 – has successfully won a bid at auction to acquire the Sotogrande real estate unit from previous owners NH Hoteles which controls Sotogrande Golf & Polo Resorts…

With binding offers due for submission back in June, Bloomberg revealed in April that both Cerberus and Oaktree Capital Group were among the bidders, with bids of more than €200m anticipated, while according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, last year the project was assessed at €177.5m.

This latest deal follows on the heels of US tycoons George Soros and John Paulson, both of whom invested €500m in property investment company Hispania as Spain emerged from recession for the first time in more than two years. And just two months ago, Merlin Properties – a newly created Spanish real estate investment trust – set its sights on becoming the largest property investment company in Europe after launching a €1.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) flotation on the stock market.

Originally a gated estate, Sotogrande was founded in 1962

The largest privately owned residential development in Andalucía, Sotogrande is located in the San Roque municipality in Cádiz. Originally a gated estate, it was founded in 1962 by Joseph Rafael McMicking e Ynchausti and Mercedes Zobel de Ayala y Roxas, both Filipinos of, respectively, British-Spanish and Spanish descent.

World-famous sporting and leisure amenities at the exclusive property development include a marina, five golf courses and a polo ground.