Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega has finalized the acquisition of the Sabadell Financial Center in Miami’s Brickell district for $274.4 million, marking the largest office transaction in South Florida so far this year. Ortega’s family office, Ponte Gadea, purchased the 30-story building at 1111 Brickell Avenue from KKR and Parkway, as confirmed by property records and data from Vizzda. No mortgage was recorded with the sale, indicating that it was likely an all-cash transaction.
Chris Lee and Sean Kelly of CBRE represented the sellers in the deal.
The Sabadell Financial Center, completed in 2000 on a 1.8-acre site, is part of a mixed-use development that also includes the adjacent JW Marriott Miami hotel. The original developers were MDM Group and Rilea Group. The tower offers 524,000 square feet of office space and is leased to tenants such as Industrious, Tibint, Kennedys Law, Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, and Northmarq.
KKR and Parkway had previously acquired the building for $248.5 million in 2018. KKR is led by co-CEOs Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall; Parkway is headed by James Heistand.
The purchase comes amid slower activity in South Florida’s office investment market compared to previous years when low interest rates attracted numerous buyers during the pandemic period. According to CBRE data cited in property sales reports, total office deal volume in Miami-Dade County peaked at $2.1 billion in 2021 before falling to $700 million by 2023; however, sales rose again last year to reach $1.4 billion.
Ortega’s acquisition surpasses other significant transactions this year including Bradford Allen Investment Advisors’ $208 million purchase of Las Olas Centre I & II and Lone Star Funds’ consortium buying Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre for $221 million—both located in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Market observers note that many current buyers are using all cash to avoid high financing costs. Ortega—best known as founder of Zara and Inditex—is recognized for reinvesting retail profits into real estate through Ponte Gadea worldwide.
Forbes ranks Ortega as the world’s twelfth richest individual with an estimated net worth of $127.1 billion. This year he is expected to receive record dividends totaling $3.6 billion from his retail businesses; some analysts suggest recent property purchases may be aimed at managing tax exposure related to Spain’s wealth tax regime.
A real estate expert told The Real Deal earlier this year: “Purchasing all cash also allows for a reprieve on prices because sellers are more interested in the certainty of closing over getting the highest price in the current financing climate.”
Ponte Gadea has made several major acquisitions recently: it bought Atlas Plaza retail center in Miami Design District for $110 million last month; acquired Veneto Las Olas apartment tower for $165 million in June; purchased Hotel Banke in Paris for $113 million; secured an eight-story property on Rue Saint-Honoré for approximately €170 million ($197.3 million); paid $284 million for a Barcelona office building housing publisher Planeta’s headquarters; and reportedly agreed to buy a minority stake in PD Ports from Brookfield Asset Management in the United Kingdom.
