The magnate Amancio Ortega has a company, called Esparelle 2016, with which he finances other companies in his holding company Pontegadea when making real estate purchases. That company functions like a bank or a financial firm that provides resources for these acquisitions. Currently, it has lent 2,501 million euros in credits to other group companies abroad, as can be seen from the 2025 accounts recently presented by Esparelle in the Commercial Registry.
The 2025 report of this company indicates that its main activity is, precisely, the holding's own activities, including the provision of financial support and financial services, granting intragroup loans at market interest. Last year, Esparelle contributed 487 million as financial aid and in 2024 it had been 707 million.
Regarding the results, Esparelle lost 47 million last year, compared to the 120 million profit the previous year. The red numbers occurred as a result, mainly, of the valuation of loans in foreign currency at the closing exchange rate. These exchange differences were negative by 171 million, compared to the positive amount of 60 million in the previous year. The company, in turn, obtained 109 million in financial income - the interest it receives -, 8.7% less year-on-year.
From what Esparelle's accounts indicate, the companies to which it lends are foreign and it is exposed to currencies such as the US dollar, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and South Korean won. In US dollars alone, it totals a balance of 1,145 million in seven companies.
The businessman from León and based in A Coruña is one of the richest people in the world, with a fortune of around 147.9 billion dollars (126.596 million euros, at the current exchange rate). Thanks to Inditex - a group of which it controls 60% of the capital - it receives increasing annual dividends, of 3,234 million in 2026 alone, and with them it invests mainly in real estate and in some business interests through its family office Pontegadea Inversiones, the parent company on which Pontegadea Inmobiliaria and, in turn, Esparelle depend.
Due to these enormous resources, Ortega does not usually use financing from banks, only on some occasions. However, you have decided to use Esparelle for those financial services. Pontegadea does not comment on the activity of this company. However, legal sources consulted indicate that it is common for some holding company in international companies to centralize financial services and treasury, concentrate cash surpluses, lend funds to subsidiaries or seek to isolate legal risks by financing assets within the same structure.
The accounts explain that the ultimate destination of each financing is to acquire real estate, amortize bank debt (replace it with intragroup debt) or the purchase of companies.
Esparelle's financing coincides with Ortega's international purchases in recent years. Thus, it grants loans to companies from different countries such as FIF Property in Ireland, Pontegadea France, Pontegadea Netherlands, Pontegadea RE Luxemburg, Pontegadea Logistics Italy, Pontegadea Logistics Germany or Pontegadea Korea.
In the United States, one of Ortega's favorite countries to invest in, the movements are more often: Ponte Gadea California, Ponte Gadea Chicago Hotel, Ponte Gadea Fulton, Ponte Gadea K Street, Ponte Gadea Seattle, Ponte Gadea Washington or the main one in the United States called Ponte Gadea USA.
Among the new financings in 2025, PD Ports stands out, since that year it acquired 49% of this British port manager from Brookfield for around 506 million.
At the end of last year, Ortega had a real estate portfolio valued at more than 21 billion euros, according to Forbes. Among the subsequent operations, from 2026, is the recent one by Capital 8 in Paris, for around 800 million, when acquiring an office block from Invesco, in an operation that breaks its maximum in Europe. In addition, so far this year it has acquired a luxury rental residential building in Boston for 205 million, an office building in Chicago for 440 million, and two logistics warehouses operated by Amazon and Lactalis in Canada for 215 million.
