At least one person in Spain is making money on property these days. The real estate business controlled by Amancio Ortega, founder of the Zara retail chain and one of the richest men in the world, posted a profit of €93.3 million last year, a 32 per cent increase from the previous year.
Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, Ortega’s real estate business focuses on office and retail space on “the best streets of the world’s major cities,” El Pais notes. The company’s holdings include the building that is home to the Apple store in Barcelona and the Picasso Tower in Madrid.
Pontegadea reported only a small €4.3 million increase in rent income in 2013, up to €98.5 million, according to the public filings from parent company Inditex. Of that, €75.7 million came from Spanish investments and €22.7 million from foreign tenants, El Pais reports.
But Pontegadea made an additional €35 million by “investing and lending to other companies in the Inditex group,” El Pais says. The company also boosted its portfolio, reporting assets of €4.5 billion, a 19 per cent jump from 2012.
More recent deals include the €44 million purchase of a Barcelona office building. The company also reportedly bought the building in Valencia that houses the Apple store, El Pais reports.
Ortega is ranked fourth on the Forbes billionaire list behind Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
