Highlights - Marbella Luxury Real Estate Magazine 2019

Highlights
because in Europe, “there is less demand for branded
things, period,” comments Piers Schmidt from The
Luxury Branding consultancy in Knight Frank’s
Branded Residences Report 2019. “Developers
are less prone to license a brand to move their real
estate [in Europe] because they know their asset has
appeal,” he adds.
But Europe is a potential area of great growth
in branded residences – and nowhere more so than
Spain, whose luxury market is just starting to latch on
to the appeal of having five-star facilities on tap.
Madrid’s new Centro Canalejas – a high-end retail
complex housed in seven historic buildings in the city
centre, set to open in late 2019 – will include Spain’s
first Four Seasons hotel, complete with 22 private
residences on sale from €3m. Buyers so far have been
50% Spanish – mainly from Madrid – and 50% from
overseas, notably South America and the Middle East.
As an investment destination, Madrid has become
hot property. Prime prices rose by 8.1% in 2018 and
are forecast to rise by 6% in 2019, placing it at the
top of Knight Frank’s prime residential forecast for
global cities. Central to Madrid’s appeal to investors
is its relative value, attractive lifestyle and healthy
tenant demand. Yet Spain has been slower than
other countries to latch on to the branded residences
concept.
“Spain has been going through a big recovery
process since the global crisis, and Madrid, in
particular, has become a key focus for international
investment. The capital is now one of Europe’s major
cities in terms of tourism, infrastructure, education,
leisure and gastronomy. It’s encouraging many
investors to consider developing high-end schemes
with the seal of a prestigious brand, such as Four
Seasons Private Residences Madrid,” comments
Carlos Zamora, head of residential for Knight Frank
Madrid.
“We believe it is a model that will be repeated
mainly in Madrid and Barcelona. Clients in these
cities are more sophisticated and demanding, and
they have an increasingly international profile, so
prime projects must adapt to their needs by offering
all kinds of services and amenities,” Zamora adds.
“It’s a way of differentiating a prime project from
the rest of the market, making it more exclusive by
offering access to hotel services or by being
architecturally outstanding in some way.”
Prime city centre locations are favoured by
two thirds of branded residence schemes globally.
Barcelona will soon see completion of its first branded
hotel residences, the Mandarin Oriental Residences,
among the designer boutiques on prestigious Paseo
de Gracia. They will be the luxury hotel group’s first
standalone residences scheme in Europe.
Besides the right location, the essence of the
brand must flow subtly throughout the project.
“When the client enters their residence, they must
instantly feel a direct connection with the brand that
is sponsoring the project,” comments Carlos Zamora.
“In the case of the Four Seasons Private Residences
Madrid, you feel the sense of exclusivity and quality
that’s synonymous with the brand, as well as being
able to enjoy all the comforts and services the hotel
offers its guests.”
Sales at these landmark schemes in Madrid
and Barcelona show a healthy appetite for high-end
branded schemes in Spain. Now, more are set to follow
– and they are branching out beyond Spain’s key cities
to Marbella.
Four Seasons has earmarked a prime site near
Los Monteros on the eastern side of Marbella as the
A private residence at Finca Cortesín
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