According to a filing at the CNMV stock market regulator,Barclays acquired 4.8 million Metrovacesa shares at €46.29 each tocancel debt owed it by the Sanahujas of around €220 million. LastFebruary, Sanahuja's main creditor banks - Santander, BBVA, CajaMadrid, Banco Popular and Banco Sabadell - took over the family's55% stake in return for the cancellation of €2.17 billion of debt.Following the deal done in December with Barclays, the Sanahujasstake was halve to just 22.67% in Metrovacesa.

Internally, Metrovacesa has been concentrating on raisingliquidity for the last 24 months since the collapse of the Spanishhousing market and the subsequent US-sparked global economiccrisis. The group reported a net loss of €789 million in the firstnine months of 2009, most of it due to a further write-down ofassets. Without the latter, the loss would have been €275 million.It posted revenues of €508 million, and reported gross asset valueof €9.2 billion, down 9.2% on the end of 2008. Net financial debtat end-September was €6.2 billion.

Separately, Metrovacesa has put up for sale some 1,500apartments in 10 Spanish provinces at discounts of 25% to 52%. Thecampaign, entitled Goodbye Homes (Adiós Pisos), is the largeststock of housing to be offered in this manner and comprises a newconcept for the Spanish market: Running until June 2010, it willauction one lot every fortnight through the Metrovacesa website.Discounts mean that final prices are between €99,999 and €570,000.Metrovacesa also announced the sale, just before year-end, of itsMetropark Aparcamientos parking portfolio for just under €100million to the Belgian group Interparking.