Copa del Rey de Vela was held in Palma until this weekend. One of its sponsors was Sotheby's International Realty, the British real estate agency. A company that sells luxury real estate has just opened an office on Formentera to find an active international client. But this is not the only step, the company has plans for future growth and development in Spain.
The real estate brand of the famous auction house has three franchises in Spain: in Catalonia, in Andalusia and a third called Viva Sotheby's International on Formentera. It is owned by Paul Kempe, a British businessman from the Tileyard record company in Kings Cross, and his wife Susie. The company is headed by CEO Alejandra Vanoli, who talks about the agency's plans: "We will open a second office in Madrid, and this year we will in Bilbao."
In the Spanish capital, the new office will be located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, the municipality with the highest income in Spain, and will be added to the existing office in the Chambery district. Thus, the company perceives itself in houses on the outskirts of the city, also paying special attention to the La Moraleja complex. "After the pandemic, there was a clear demand for moving from the city to houses with gardens," he explains.
As for Bilbao, a city that is not so focused on luxury and is more targeted at international customers, Vanoli believes that it is "an important economy that has a long way to go." In addition, he will open another office in San Sebastian, which will depend on the office in the capital of Biscay.
But that is not the end. In recent months, correspondent offices have been opened (alliances with other agents to whom they provide clients) in Alicante, Valencia, Galicia and the Canary Islands. There are also offices in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. The first of them was opened by Viva in 2011 in Puerto de Andratx (Mallorca).
Thanks to this natural growth and high demand in 2020, Vanoli says that this year Viva expects to reach a transaction volume of at least 70 million, which is similar to the record of 2017. "Last year was very difficult. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. But this year has been fantastic, " he admits.
The volume of Viva Sotheby's international transactions increased to €54 million by the end of June, improving the results for the whole of 2020. Vanoli says that international demand continues to be very active: real estate is sold from €500,000, and the average price is €4 million.