The construction company OHLA has completely separated itself this year from its founder, Juan Miguel Villar Mir, to take a new direction whose first stage consists of selling non-strategic assets. The direction is clear, but it is necessary to release the heavy burden of debt, which has become the main threat for a company that prides itself on returning to profit and having reached record hiring levels in eight years.
In March of this year, the Villar Mir Group (GVM) lost the 7.09% of its remaining capital in the company when the Monegasque fund Tyrus executed a loan linked to the group’s shares. That exchange meant the farewell of the shareholding of Juan Miguel Villar Mir, the founder of the group in 1987, the result of the merger between the construction companies Obrascón, Huarte and Lain. His participation, above 50% until 2018, was languishing amid debt and reputation problems.
The baton has been taken over by the Mexican brothers Luis and Mauricio Amodio, who joined the capital in May 2020 and are already the first shareholders, with 26%. Their efforts have since focused on reducing debt and promoting the areas of construction and concessions, as explained by the company itself. In 2021 they managed to refinance the debt, now standing at around 412 million euros and concentrated in bonds.
Half of the debt matures in March 2025 and the other half, a year later, but the interests, as agreed in 2021, are increasing, so the mandate is now to sell assets and reduce leverage to less than 2.5 times the gross operating profit (ebitda). This year, according to the forecasts communicated to the market, the ebitda will be 125 million euros.
OHLA has been probing the market since February to place the assets. They are “non-strategic,” the company specifies. One of them is Madrid’s Canalejas center, a luxury complex a few meters from Puerta del Sol consisting of a shopping gallery, a hotel and several homes. The company has 50%, while the other half was sold by Grupo Villar Mir to millionaire Mark Scheinberg, the founder of PokerStars.
The other divestment is that of the services subsidiary Ingesan, in which the Spanish fund Portobello could be interested, which has been forming a new operator in the sector, Serveo, with assets from Sacyr and FCC. 25% of the Chum hospital in Canada is also for sale. The company “continues working” on these processes, it assures without reporting progress.
The shadow of Villar Mir also loomed over the management until this summer. José Antonio Fernández Gallar, former director of Grupo Villar Mir’s real estate business, left his position as CEO of OHLA in June, a position he had held since 2018. Luis and Mauricio Amodio have resolved their departure by adding to their positions of president and vice president, respectively, new executive functions and appointing a trusted manager, Tomás Ruiz, new general director.
All these movements should allow OHLA to enjoy a wind that is now blowing at its tail. Last year, it achieved a record of awards valued at 4.3 billion euros, bringing its project portfolio to 7 billion, the largest since 2015.
In the first half of this year the group has returned to profits and has increased EBITDA by 50%. Steps have also been taken in a new business area, that of renewables, in which OHLA already has 30 projects with a power of 1,600 megawatts (MW). The company also assures that it is “steadily moving” towards meeting the objectives for this year, which involve achieving sales of 4.5 billion and hiring more than 3.6 billion.
OHLA’s strategy goes far beyond the sale of assets. It focuses on the areas of construction and concessions, and does so with an eye on the United States, Latin America and Europe. Construction projects include the Purple Line railway in Maryland, the I-5 highway in California and the South Corridor Bus Rapid Transit in Florida. Among the concessions, those related to the construction and operation of hospitals stand out.