In 2016, Lopesan raised HI Partners (Blackstone) 42,4 million euros for the 402-room IFA Catarina in Playa del Inglés. In 2017, the same sale of the IFA Continental in Playa del Inglés to HI Partners was repeated for 46,7 million euros with 383 rooms. In the second quarter of 2017, the hotel on Helsinki Street in Playa del Inglés, the IFA Dunamar, became part of the inventory of Hi Partners for 33.300.000 euros for the 273 rooms at the same time that Lopesan got rid of the profitable IFA Beach of San Agustín to the same HI Partners for 24.400.000 with 200 rooms. With that money Lopesan bought two neighboring plots of the RIU Tres Islas and That 2016, the evidence of case 18 Lovas was prepared, which has been proven to be a conspiracy to civilly eliminate the owner of Lopesan, Eustasio López.
In context, Lopesan had cash to be able to make purchases and decided that the Canary market had a historical debt with the development of projects in Fuerteventura because in the south of that island, in Jandía, it is impossible to move a square meter of land per much Dreamland there is. In 2016, the Canary Islands concentrated almost a third of the total, driven by assets integrated into portfolios that appear among the largest operations of 2016 and 2017 (70% of the almost 750 million registered in the Canary Islands were distributed in real estate).
Lopesan has 73% of the tourist land in Fuerteventura but it is useless because everything is hyper-regulated; but AMF (formerly NC) did its homework before leaving power in 2023 in both Cabido and Pájara. At the moment there is a PSOE and CC pact in Fuerteventura; but the PP has Tourism in the Government of the Canary Islands in the hands of a majorera and Territorial Policy in the hands of a majorero. The latter has restricted Lopesan's interests in Cofete and, in return, It is expected that CC will not torpedo the Corralejo projects due to possible RIU pressures.
Thus, with these sales the chain decided in 2016 to grow in Fuerteventura where it has a four-star IFA in the south of the island. For this reason, it purchased two plots in Corralejo for the construction of a hotel for families but with high spending capacity following the parameters and quality standards of the rest of Lopesan's accommodation offer. That decision was made during the time of Santiago de Armas as the company's top executive. A RIU would be shocked by the Fuerteventura operation given that just 12 months before both chains were at odds over the renovation of the Oasis.
Months after that operation, the leadership of Lopesan was paralyzed and had to face a transition period because the chain's top leader was affected by the dishonest bad practices of suppliers. Lopesan made those purchases before because he knew that there was an expiration date for the RIU that has the chain in conflict with the central government due to the end of the concession it had from 1973 on public land. RIU would be running out of time to demolish the Tres Islas complex and then continue its investment agenda in Africa after Cape Verde and Senegal..
Lopesan plots in Corralejo are already beginning to move in the senior management of the company chaired by Eustasio López, who has returned to the first command position of the group because the replacements he put in charge of the business unit would have been inefficient. The chain associates these investments with Fuerteventura's air connectivity plans and the high demand makes this island a destination for first-rate investments. In 2026, the agenda of financial commitments acquired by Lopesan in 2016 to place 1.000 million euros in hotel assets to expand its tourism offer in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and the Dominican Republic ends. The Clavijo del Suelo Law of the Canary Islands has made it easier to end the overregulation of business in the Canary Islands.
Already in 2013, due to the clash over the palm grove of the Maspalomas Oasis, where the renovation of a RIU hotel could block the views of the Maspalomas Dunes from a Lopesan hotel, the owner of RIU, Carmen Riu, made it very clear that it would not was in no strategy of harassment of Lopesan. In Preferente it said: "RIU does not have any battle with Mr. Eustasio López for tourist hegemony in the South of Gran Canaria. RIU is only defending itself against a man whom until a few months ago it deeply respected for being a good hotel professional, who has started a battle whose meaning, until today, RIU did not understand. Today, unfortunately, Mr. López has clarified what he wants with this circus: the Oasis Hotel." Fuerteventura seems to be the first destination in the Canary Islands from which RIU would relocate in view of the hotel movements that are being finalized on the islands before 2027.