El Corte Inglés has launched a reorganization of its commercial offer in Madrid, which will take place in the coming weeks with the closure of the stores in the La Vaguada and Parquesur shopping centers. The group chaired by Marta Álvarez reached an agreement in 2018 for the transfer of commercial spaces for 160 million euros to Unibial-Rodamco-Westfield, the largest European real estate agency and one of the largest in the world, but maintaining operations. Now, however, and after losses of about 3 million in each of the cases, it has chosen to close.
As confirmed by sources from the company itself, the objective is to focus on the El Corte Inglés stores in Madrid that have the complete offer and thus reinforce the establishments close to the two that are closing, those of Castellana, Sanchinarro and El Bercial. “The company will offer the affected staff their relocation to other establishments of the organization, taking into account their destination preferences, the proximity of the centers to their homes and their professional skills”, according to what the company management has transferred to the unions .
In January, El Corte Inglés already closed another establishment, located on Calle Vitoria, in Burgos and will also close a store on Gran Vía in Bilbao where it will strengthen the center that adds the offer. Last year centers such as Francesc Macià (Barcelona), Linares (Jaén) or El Tiro (Murcia) were also closed with the aim always of rearranging the commercial offer and increasing profitability.
Strategic alliance
after obtaining all relevant Competition authorizations. The agreement involves the purchase and sale of the insurance business of El Corte Inglés, which includes 50.01% of each of the two companies that carry out this activity: SECI and CESS, and the entry by Mutua into the shareholding of El Corte English.
The operation, agreed upon and announced last October, was signed yesterday morning after obtaining the necessary administrative authorizations, both from the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP) and from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC).
insurer payments
At the same time, the corresponding payments have been made: 550 million euros for the insurance business and 555 million for the 8% stake in the capital of El Corte Inglés. There are a total of 1,105 million that the group will use entirely to repay debt, thereby reducing its financial commitments to just over 2,500 million, the lowest level in the last 15 years. Specifically, the loan with the guarantee of the ICO requested last year for 390 million and the bond issued in 2018 for 690 million, which matured in 2024 and of which 620 million remained outstanding, is amortized.
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