Alantra advises premium supermarket Sanchez Romero on its sale to El Corte Inglés

Jul 2021

Sell-side advisory

Madrid – Alantra, the global investment banking and asset management specialist, has acted as financial advisor to Sanchez Romero (“the Company”), the leading premium supermarket chain in Spain, on the sale of 100% of its capital to El Corte Inglés, the largest department store group in Europe and third largest worldwide.

Founded in 1954, Sanchez Romero is the top retail food and consumer goods distributor in Spain, characterized by the breadth, variety and differentiation of the products and services it offers, by the type and format of its stores, and by the high quality of its fresh products. The Company has 10 supermarkets with a surface area of 9,000 square meters throughout Madrid’s metropolitan area. Additionally, it has a 4,000-square-meter distribution platform in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), where the company’s offices and headquarters are also located.

Sanchez Romero’s performance in recent years has been excellent, closing the 2020 financial year with €61m in revenues, 50% more than in the previous year, and an EBITDA of €6.2m, the best performance in the sector in Spain. Leveraging on the Company’s great performance, Alantra structured a competitive process that maintained interest from several local and international bidders throughout the transaction and ensured the most beneficial outcome for both parties. Enric Ezquerra, Sanchez Romero’s current manager, will continue to be linked to the Company.

El Corte Inglés is the largest department store group in Europe and the third largest worldwide, with more than 85 department stores and 80,000 employees. El Corte Inglés’ business model is based on an attractive, broad and varied commercial proposal, permanently incorporating pioneering products and services, generating a turnover of €10,432m and an EBITDA of €142m in 2020. This transaction consolidates El Corte Inglés’ position as a leader in the premium supermarket segment and is in line with El Corte Ingles’ policy of diversification through the creation of new commercial formats, such as Supercor, Sfera, Bricor, Viajes El Corte Inglés, El Corte Inglés Seguros and Grupo SICOR, among others.

Alfredo Hérnandez-Redondo, Partner at Alantra, commented: “We would like to thank Sanchez Romero for their trust and the opportunity to advise them on this important project. We wish El Corte Inglés all the best in their journey in shaping Sanchez Romero’s next growth chapter.”