A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Colonial in Talks to Sell Iberia's Madrid HQ

Colonial negocia vender la sede de Iberia en Madrid

Oct 23, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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Colonial es una empresa inmobiliaria española. Ahora negocia la venta de un complejo de oficinas en Madrid. El complejo se llama MV49 Business Park. Iberia, la aerolínea española, tiene su sede allí.

El complejo tiene dos edificios. En total, hay 24.135 metros cuadrados. Un edificio tiene 13 plantas y el otro tiene seis plantas. Iberia está en el edificio de 13 plantas desde 2013. La empresa quiere mover sus oficinas principales a otro lugar cerca del aeropuerto en el futuro.

Colonial es dueña del complejo desde hace 20 años. La empresa compró el edificio en 2006 por 103 millones de euros. La venta de este complejo es parte de un plan. Colonial quiere vender activos por 500 millones de euros. Con este dinero, la empresa puede invertir en otros proyectos.

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Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often forget that Spanish present tense -ar verbs change endings for each subject, unlike English where only third-person singular adds -s. For example, 'yo negocio' means 'I negotiate,' but learners might say 'yo negociar' by mistake. Remember: -o for yo, -as for tú, -a for él/ella. Another common trap is using the wrong ending for nosotros or vosotros. English uses 'we negotiate' and 'you all negotiate' without changing the verb stem, but Spanish requires -amos and -áis. So 'nosotros negociamos' and 'vosotros negociáis' are correct, not 'nosotros negocia' or 'vosotros negocian'. Finally, be careful with third-person plural: 'ellos negocian' ends in -an, not -en (which is for -er/-ir verbs). English speakers might overgeneralize and say 'ellos negocien' (subjunctive) or 'ellos negocian' incorrectly. Stick to the -an ending for -ar verbs in present indicative.

Key vocabulary

inmobiliariaf.
real estate company
“Colonial es una empresa inmobiliaria española.”— Colonial is a Spanish real estate company.
Pattern empresa inmobiliaria real estate company
Compare constructora construction company
Plural inmobiliarias
💡 Derived from inmueble (real estate), -aria indicates an industry.
negociarv.
to negotiate
“Ahora negocia la venta de un complejo de oficinas en Madrid.”— Now it is negotiating the sale of an office complex in Madrid.
Pattern negociar la venta negotiate the sale
Compare tratar to negotiate
Present yo negocio, tú negocias, él negocia
💡 From Latin negotiari, cognate with negocio (business).
sedef.
headquarters, seat
“Iberia tiene su sede allí.”— Iberia has its headquarters there.
Pattern sede central headquarters
Compare central headquarters
Plural sedes
💡 Note the difference from sed; sede comes from Latin sedes (seat).
complejom.
complex, park
“El complejo se llama MV49 Business Park.”— The complex is called MV49 Business Park.
Pattern complejo de oficinas office complex
Compare conjunto complex
Plural complejos
💡 Homograph with complejo (complex), here it is a noun.
ventaf.
sale
“El precio de la venta es de unos 100 millones de euros.”— The sale price is about 100 million euros.
Pattern precio de venta sale price
Compare comercio trade
Plural ventas
💡 From the verb vender (to sell), -ta is a noun suffix.
edificiom.
building
“El complejo tiene dos edificios.”— The complex has two buildings.
Pattern edificio de oficinas office building
Compare inmueble property
Plural edificios
💡 From Latin aedificium, cognate with edificar (to build).
plantaf.
floor, story
“Un edificio tiene 13 plantas.”— One building has 13 floors.
Pattern planta baja ground floor
Compare piso floor
Plural plantas
💡 Note that planta also means plant; here it refers to a floor.
activom.
asset
“Colonial quiere vender activos por 500 millones de euros.”— Colonial wants to sell assets for 500 million euros.
Pattern activos inmobiliarios real estate assets
Compare bien asset
Plural activos
💡 Homograph with activo (active), here it is a noun.

Grammar spotlight

Present tense: regular -ar verb conjugation

For verbs ending in -ar, the present tense endings are: yo -o, tú -as, él/ella -a, nosotros -amos, vosotros -áis, ellos -an. For example, the conjugation of negociar is: yo negocio, tú negocias, él negocia.

“Ahora negocia la venta de un complejo de oficinas en Madrid.”— Now it is negotiating the sale of an office complex in Madrid.

⚠️ Note that in the conjugation of negociar, the stress falls on the last syllable; do not write it as négocio.

Sentence patterns to steal

Iberia, la aerolínea española, tiene su sede allí.
Iberia, the Spanish airline, has its headquarters there.
Noun, appositive, verb + objectThe appositive can be replaced with another identifying description, such as la empresa de aviación.
La venta de este complejo es parte de un plan.
The sale of this complex is part of a plan.
Noun + es parte de + nounParte de can be followed by other whole nouns, such as un proyecto.
Con este dinero, la empresa puede invertir en otros proyectos.
With this money, the company can invest in other projects.
Con + noun, subject + poder + infinitive + en + nounPoder can be replaced with other modal verbs, such as querer.

Madrid's Business District

The MV49 business park is located at the intersection of Madrid's M-30 ring road and Avenida de América, near Madrid-Barajas Airport, and is one of Madrid's important business districts. The area is home to many office buildings and hotels, attracting a great deal of real estate investment.

Source: Expansión news and Madrid municipal planning documents

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