Barclays swaps debt for 7% of equity in Spain's Metrovacesa

Spain's listed property giant Metrovacesa, heavily exposed to the nation's struggling housing sector, has swapped debt for equity with the British bank Barclays, making the latter a 6.98% shareholder after it exercised options from the formerly controlling Sanahuja family. Barclays acquired 4.8m Metrovacesa shares to cancel debt of around E220m. Internally, Metrovacesa has been concentrating on raising liquidity for the last 24 months since the collapse of the Spanish housing market and the subsequent US-sparked global economic crisis. Separately, it has put up for sale some 1,500 apartments in 10 Spanish provinces at discounts of 25% to 52%, and also announced the sale of its Metropark Aparcamientos parking portfolio for just under E100m to the Belgian group Interparking. (See upcoming PIE/PFE editions for full story)