Metrovacesa quadruples sales to raise liquidity
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish property firm Metrovacesa (MVC.MC) is quadrupling its sale of assets, company documents show, as it struggles to refinance assets bought at the top of Britain's property boom and faces a property crisis at home.
Details of the firm's revised business plan, named Phoenix, show that the company is to quadruple the sale of assets to 2 billion euros ($3 billion).
It will now sell 1.53 billion euros worth of commercial assets such as shopping centres or offices in addition to the 486 million euros worth of land it announced in the first draft of Phoenix in February, after struggling to sell land in Spain's near-paralysed market.
"When we first presented Plan Phoenix, conditions were not as bad as they are now. Because it is difficult to sell land at the moment, we will increase in property," a spokeswoman for the company said.
Metrovacesa borrowed 810 million pounds ($1.5 billion) from HSBC (HSBA.L) to buy the bank's skyscraper headquarters in London before leasing it back to the bank and only has until Nov. 27 to pay it back.
The company is locked in refinancing negotiations with HSBC, talks that the spokeswoman said were making progress.
"We have always been confident of refinancing it. We are going to study what is the best option," she said.
Metrovacesa also owes 240 million pounds used to buy the Walbrook Square office site in the City, which is due on Oct 31.
(Reporting by Ben Harding; Editing by Paul Bolding)
