"Bad bank" sells Cala Mendia hotel for three million euros

It has been acquired by Sineu Inversiones through Altamira Asset Management, one of four companies which are in charge of managing and marketing Sareb's assets. Vicente Garciá, Sareb's director for the northeast of Spain, says that the transaction shows that investors are maintaining their interest in tourism sector assets despite the uncertainties arising from Covid-19.

Antoni Guàrdia, Altamira's director for Catalonia and the Balearics, agrees with García, adding that "the fact that the health crisis is not structural, unlike in 2008, explains the interest". "Investors know that economic activity will recover when the health crisis passes, and they are looking for investment opportunities so that they are prepared for that situation."

Guàrdia believes that demand will begin to grow in April, once the most difficult part of the crisis has been overcome. At present, he says, demand is exceeding the levels that existed before the pandemic.

Sareb is owned by the Spanish government. A product of the financial crisis, it was set up in 2012 in order to handle banks' toxic assets.