The Latest Spanish Property News from Kyero.com
August 23rd, 2007
AIM-listed Spanish agent Medsea Estates saw its value fall by 25% within hours of recent press headlines about a ‘nosedive’ in the Spanish stock market.
Founder Tony Gatehouse - who spent six months with auditors to show clients it was properly regulated - said he had to hire a top PR firm in the City to put him in front of editors to explain the true story behind the headlines.
Gatehouse told OPP : “We are the only truly financially-regulated agent in Spain - there’s no one regulated by the FSA but I’m regulated by AIM’s financial rules and I have to be able to verify everything. If I make a false statement I could go to jail.
“The stories knocked confidence in the consumer and knocked 25% of Medsea’s value within 24 hours. So we hired Weber Shandwick PR, who are known in the City, to get us in front of investor titles like Share Magazine. I explained how Spain was portrayed in the media and how they got it wrong. Because it all started with one large company.”
Gatehouse says the media has looked at Spain as one region. “The Costa del Sol is not Spain,” he said. “It was sold on flipping - people were going out to buy one property and went home with four. Agents were selling volume and the price was being pushed up.
“The other question is where developments were being built. After their sales, some of the buildings weren’t to spec but IFAs and others sold and then moved on.”
Medsea is now developing Residencial Argosol in Murcia, and is about to open an office in Madrid, as well as a call centre to sell direct to Spanish homebuyers. Gatehouse insists there is still value in Spain but does not want to encourage people who need to buy-to-rent to support a mortgage. He said “I want profit like everyone else but ever since I entered business I always had the philosophy that I won’t sell at any cost.”
He added that talk of an oversupply all over Spain is not as bad as the press has made out. “If there’s such a glut, then how come I’m selling today off-plan that’s two years away?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Medsea is planning a new advertising campaign in the UK to raise awareness of its brand that is already well known in Spain. It has managed to raise its profile among the key over-fifty market through its exclusive deal with SAGA Overseas Homes.
