Telefónica has sold the building that housed its headquarters for decades at 28 Gran Vía. The telecommunications company had already reached an agreement in May of this year with real estate developer Tomás Olivo, owner of General de Galerías Comerciales. The transaction was finally signed last Tuesday, September 1, for 200 million euros, according to a report by CincoDías.
The final price fell well short of the multinational’s expectations; the company, chaired by Marc Murtra since January 2025, had hoped to reach close to 300 million. Ever since it became known that Telefónica had put its historic headquarters up for sale late last year, interest in the purchase has waned due to the special protection the building enjoys as a unique landmark and because the Madrid City Council informed potential buyers of the difficulties involved in changing the building’s use.
Currently, the property has zoning approval as private infrastructure, and it would not be easy to convert it to residential or commercial use ( to turn it into a hotel, for example). It is still unknown what use Olivo will put to Telefónica’s former headquarters in the future. The businessman, Spain’s sixth-richest person, is the lead developer of what will be Madrid’s largest shopping center, Valdebebas Shopping, and has similar projects underway throughout the country.
Telefónica will remain in the building for the next three years
Since 2008, Telefónica’s operational headquarters has not been in the Gran Vía building, but rather in the Telefónica District, in the Las Tablas neighborhood. However, the multinational still maintains the Espacio Movistar at its historic headquarters, which houses the Movistar store, an immersive room, a movie theater, and other entertainment activities, as well as the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, where talks, exhibitions, and cultural activities are held.
For now, the telecommunications operator has reached an agreement with the building’s new owner to lease five floors for the next three years, according to sources consulted by CincoDías. Thus, Espacio Movistar and Espacio Fundación Telefónica will continue to operate, at least for the duration of the agreement.
Spain’s tallest skyscraper until 1953
What was once Telefónica’s first headquarters was built between 1926 and 1929. The building was designed primarily by architect Ignacio Cárdenas Pastor, who, before beginning the project, was sent to New York to immerse himself in the modern style of the Big Apple’s skyscrapers. This was arranged by ITT, an American company that was, back in the 1920s, Telefónica’s largest shareholder.
The result was Madrid’s first skyscraper, which drew inspiration from both New York and Madrid’s Baroque tradition. With its fifteen stories and a height of nearly 90 meters, it was Madrid’s tallest building for more than twenty years (until 1953, when it was surpassed by the Edificio España).
For what was then the Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España, the ambition behind the project—which was unique in Spain at the time—stemmed from a fairly practical (and predictable) goal:“to appeal to potential stock buyers,”as Cárdenas himself documented. Inevitably, the company’s headquarters also became an icon of Madrid’s Gran Vía and one of the most recognizable buildings in the entire capital.