Around 99% of shareholders in Spain's largest listed property firm, Metrovacesa, have given their approval to a EUR 1.95 bn capital increase during a general shareholder meeting held on Tuesday.

In a statement to the Spanish stock market regulator CNMV, Metrovacesa's Chief Executive Vitalino Nafra said the capital hike 'represents the culmination of the debt restructuring process carried out by Metrovacesa and ensures, in fact, the company's viability in the future'.

Existing shareholders have committed to subscribe to at least EUR 1.35 bn worth of new shares, the Madrid-based firm said. In total, Metrovacesa plans to issue 1.3 bn new shares at a price of EUR 1.5 each. The operation is part of a massive EUR 5.2 bn debt refinancing agreement Metrovacesa signed earlier this year with its creditor banks. The firm's total debt load stands at EUR 5.75 bn.

Metrovacesa, with roughly EUR 6.5 bn of assets, is owned by Banco Santander (23.63%), Grupo Sanahuja (17.49%), BBVA (11.43%), Banco Popular Español (10.92%), Banco de Sabadell (10.41%), Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid (9.13%) and Barclays (6.98%).

As part of its strategy to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, Metrovacesa also said that it has reduced structural expenses by nearly 60% since February 2009, when the group appointed a new management.

In the future, the company's strategy will focus on improving liquidity and profitability, Nafría said, adding that in the first quarter of 2011, Metrovacesa swung out of the red for the first time in over two years, posting a net result of EUR 8.9 mln in Q1 2011.