Growth IN SIGHT
With a varied portfolio ranging from real estate and rail to energy and water treatment plants, Lantania is set to grow even further with bigger projects on the horizon.
What is the current breakdown of your revenues?
We closed 2020 with 60% of our revenue coming from infrastructure, 10% from conservation and services, 20% from energy, and 10% from water. We have grown due to the company’s own growth and as a result of two acquisitions in this sector, namely the purchase of Soil Tratamiento de Aguas Industriales and of Deisa Industrial Water Solutions, which was part of the COMSA group, dedicated to industrial water activities. This has placed us in a leading position in this sector.
Three of the four founders of Lantania come from the telecommunications sector. With the pandemic we have seen the need for companies to start digitalizing. Would you consider this a competitive advantage?
Without a doubt. When the pandemic hit, we were in a solid situation in terms of liquidity and already had the necessary technology in place. This meant that we were able to start working remotely without affecting the activity and all the information is in the cloud. When the company was created, we immediately implemented these changes, and because we are relatively small, it was easier and faster. From the beginning, we implemented a digital document exchange tool with all our contractors and providers. We use a digital platform to verify the accuracy of all contracts and invoicing, thus eliminating inconsistencies.
Lantania today has four wind farms in Galicia, which will add up to an investment of EUR146 million. What are the main characteristics of this project?
We have experience in the construction of solar and wind farms; Lantania built 126MW of solar farms in 2019 and 130MW in 2020. We are active on this front, with new awards like the solar photovoltaic installation in the City of Justice in Valencia. Regarding our role as developers, we have initially focused on the wind sector because there are higher entry barriers than in solar, and in Galicia because our transmission and distribution team is located there and our staff know the local distribution grid very well, as well as the orography. In addition, the administrative process of the Xunta de Galicia gives us many guarantees because it requires the submission of a detailed project and the demonstration of ample working knowledge in order for plans to be approved. There, we have a portfolio of 250MW, with 150MW being in the pipeline, and we are performing all the required engineering and studies in order to get the projects ready for construction. We are also analyzing the possibility of developing solar projects because the regulation is changing to prevent speculation, and there are now obligations both for the public administration and the developer that make us feel more comfortable with the process.
The Ministry for Ecological Transition awarded Lantania the expansion and improvement of the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Almansa, in Albacete. What does this project mean the company?
We have a highly qualified and competitive technical team specializing in water treatment plants. This project means that we have two axes of growth in the water sector. Firstly, in the industrial sector, where we have become the third-largest company in the domestic market in terms of industrial water projects, and secondly, in the public sector, where we have one of the most important hydraulic projects in Spain (the Almudevar dam, in Huesca), in addition to other developments, like the WWTP of Nerja and this new award.
What are your objectives for 2021?
Our goal in to keep our path of development and consolidation, combining our natural organic growth with other potential M&A transactions and investments, especially in the water, energy and rail markets. If I had to highlight a specific project, I would mention that we are currently working with our partner Gestilar in the largest “build-to-rent” deal in Spain, with the development and construction of more than 1,100 homes in southern Madrid.