Euro Property articles from April 2007

Euro Property archives from April 2007

Grainger Trust.
April 2, 2007... The UK's biggest quoted residential investment company now owns 220m of assets in Germany, and has projects in Estonia and the Czech Republic. But it still has more plans for BritainThe market has consistently under-rated residential as an...

Berlin's housing marketset for growth.
April 2, 2007... Government may curtail public housing selloff, while low supply pushes up rentsBerlin has been the honey pot for international investors interested in buying residential assets in Germany. Only 13% of the city's residents own their own home,...

Kenmore.(Company overview)
April 2, 2007... The fast-growing, profitable property company is launching a French office fund alongside its industrial fund, and has its eye on Scandinavia Six months after property company Kenmore created a publicly listed real estate fund, it is coming to...

An event that is too big for its venue.
April 2, 2007... I wasn't invited to the biggest boat at this year's MIPIM. So, I can't tell you what it was like, unless I had wanted to swim to the ship, which was anchored outside the harbour because it was simply too large. From the beach, I could make out...

Key data: INREV.
April 2, 2007... - Aberdeen, Akron, Axa and others launch funds - Most newly added vehicles are based in the UK or the NetherlandsIn the quarter to January this year, INREV identified 14 funds coming to the market. These included Aberdeen Property Invetors'...

Open to interpretation.
April 2, 2007... Non-listed real estate fund body INREV has been criticised for producing a set of financial reporting guidelines that lack clarity. But INREV says it is just being practicalGuidelines from the European association for investors in non-listed...

Allianz and Degi to unload [euro]3.5bn of German offices.
April 2, 2007... German insurer to sell 2bn portfolio, while its fund management subsidiary plans sale of 1.5bn portfolio from domestic Grundwert fundGerman insurer Allianz has put up for sale a portfolio of German offices that is expected to fetch more than...

Freeport accepts takeover bid from Carlyle Group.
April 2, 2007... The troubled factory outlet operator Freeport accepted an offer of 410p a share from the Carlyle Group after having rebuffed an offer of 400p a share in February from the group. Freeport took the offer as its performance worsened. Originally,...

German state to sell off third property portfolio.
April 2, 2007... The German state of Hessen has engaged HSH Real Estate and Atisreal to sell a third portfolio of state-owned assets. The portfolio, called Leo III, will have a volume of at least 400m and will be sold in the autumn. The State of Hessen will...

In brief.
April 2, 2007... CGG to open officesGerman fund manager Commerz Grundbesitz (CGG) will open sales offices in Paris and Amsterdam. CGG said it wants to be closer to properties and decision-makers. CGG, which manages 4bn of assets in France and the Benelux...

In brief.
April 2, 2007... JLL moves in to TurkeyJones Lang LaSalle has opened an office in Turkey after winning a property management contract for the Cevahir mall in Istanbul. JLL will look at ways of revamping the 346,000m2 mall. JLL's former head of UK shopping...

LaSalle buys French Kwik-Fit centres for [euro]62m.
April 2, 2007... LaSalle Investment Management has spent 62m on Kwik-Fit's French chain of Speedy centres.In the sale-and-leaseback deal, LaSalle's French Fund II - worth 1.3bn - will take ownership of 141 centres across France with a total floor space of...

DB Real Estate aims to populate Metropolis.
April 2, 2007... German fund manager DB Real Estate is to market the Metropolis 1 closed-ended fund in April. The fund contains three properties in Europe: Le Colisee in Paris, which is let to Citroen and Gaz de France until 2009 Park Atrium in Budapest, which...

Kenmore to launch French office fund.
April 2, 2007... Fund manager Kenmore is launching a French regional office fund only six months after it created the European Industrials Fund. Kenmore is looking for joint venture partners for the fund, which, with a target portfolio size of 100m and an...

After years of talks, REITS finally arrive in Germany.
April 2, 2007... Market players expect international investors holding German assets to convert to a tax-efficient vehicleAfter years of bickering, Germany finally got its own real estate investment trust (REIT). Parliament approved a bill that paves the way...

Fortis Real Estate.
April 2, 2007... The subsidiary of Dutch-Belgian banking and insurance firm Fortis is looking past its home turf of Belgium to Southern Europe and wants to upgrade ageing stock in its portfolioRarely does a deal in the Belgian market complete without the Fortis...

Matrix investment arm seeks [euro]221m London listing.
April 2, 2007... Proceeds to finance portfolio of European propertiesMatrix European Real Estate Investment Trust (MEREIT) is seeking to raise up to [pounds sterling]150m (221.5m) through a listing on the London Stock Exchange. Part of the proceeds will be used...

In brief.
April 2, 2007... Meinl in Turkish retail dealMeinl European Land has spent C118m on a shopping centre in Turkey with yields of 11.5%. The 50,000m2 project, in Samsun on the Black Sea, will include a 300-room hotel, and is expected to be completed by the end of...

Fadesa to develop [euro]450m holiday resort in Morocco.
April 2, 2007... Spanish developer Fadesa is to invest 450m in a holiday resort in Morocco, its first on the North African country's Atlantic coast.The complex, on Playa Blanca, will cover 6.3m m2 and will include more than 5,000 homes. The hotel complex will...

Lehman Brothers jv sets Euro record with Paris deal.
April 2, 2007... 2.1bn sale of Coeur Defense building set to be largest single-asset transaction Lehman Brothers and Atemi have bought the Coeur Defense building in Paris for 2.1bn in what is believed to be the biggest single-asset deal in Europe. Goldman...

Heard in the Eurolounge.
April 2, 2007... A similarly named replacementRobert Travers, head of investment at DTZ in Barcelona, has been poached by Cushman & Wakefield. Recognise the surname? He is none other than the son of John Travers, recently retired chief executive of Cushman &...

AXA to sell La Defense tower.
April 2, 2007... AXA are in final negotiations with Beacon Capital Partners to sell a large share of the AXA tower in La Defense, Paris for an estimated 700m in an off-market transaction. The exact size of the stake, which is still being negotiated, is based on...

Is the worldwide flood of capital about to recede?
April 2, 2007... Property investors are optimistic despite warnings about higher interest rates and recessionThe phrase "global liquidity" is very much en vogue at the moment. Low interest rates, high savings rates in growing Asian markets and booming corporate...

Bidders line up for [euro]700m Stockholm retail portfolio.
April 2, 2007... PricewaterhouseCoopers is brokering the final stage of talks with four potential buyers for the City of Stockholm's 700m retail portfolio.Ten shopping centres, in central and suburban Stockholm, are being sold by the City of Stockholm as part...

Cofinimmo buys Brussels scheme at record low yield.
April 2, 2007... The Evere Square project in Brussels, a 50,000m2 mixed scheme by Belgian property company Robelco, has been sold to Belgian REIT Cofinimmo in a sale-and- leaseback transaction.Although the deal reflects a record low yield of 4.9%, it fell short...

Executives leave Knight Frank Madrid.
April 2, 2007... Knight Frank's Madrid office has lost one of its partners and the head of its investment team.Rafael Merry del Val, a former partner and head of investment, evaluations and offices, and Borja Mcrquez, former head of investment, left...

RREEF buys ThyssenKrupp portfolio.
April 2, 2007... Deutsche Bank's RREEF Global Opportunities fund and two other investors have bought a portfolio from steel giant ThyssenKrupp in Germany. The sales process was also managed by Deutsche Bank, which started marketing the portfolio last October....

Eurohypo launches sterling collateralised debt vehicle.
April 2, 2007... Pioneering real estate CDO, priced through Eurohypo's Glastonbury Finance brand, is backed by mainly UK commercial mortgage-backed securitiesEurohypo's asset management division has priced its [pounds sterling]354m (521.3m) commercial real...

Soft landing? A crash is not out of the question.
April 2, 2007... UK property values could plummet if sentiment and market growth weaken and bond yields riseAlthough the UK commercial property market is expected to slow in 2007, a new report from Capital Economics suggests that a crash is not impossible. The...

Rabobank issues car park securities.
April 2, 2007... Bank launches 300m car park securitisation backed by loans on Netherlands- and UK-based assetsRabobank International has launched the first securitisation of European car park assets.The 300m commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) issue...

Realis to sell pan-European portfolio.
April 2, 2007... German fund manager Realis is selling a pan-European portfolio called Isar, which could fetch between 330m and 350m. The biggest asset in the portfolio, marketed by CB Richard Ellis out of London, is a Renault showroom on the Champs Elysees in...

AXA introduces cash-efficient fund.
April 2, 2007... AXA Real Estate Investment Managers (AXA REIM) is set to launch an open-ended property fund that it claims solves the problem of cash drag related to investors' requirement for liquidity. Anthony Shayle, head of business development and...

Key data: recent deals, macroeconomic data.
April 2, 2007... - Invista and British Land lead March deal stakes - Turkish unemployment rises to 9.2% Russia and Poland grow- British Land bought the 330m Nueva Condomina retail centre from the Deparcom jv between property company Trusam and supermarket...

Spain falls into line.
April 2, 2007... Lawmakers have lowered capital gains tax, corporate tax and transfer tax in order to make Spain competitive with low-tax European countries. But it still doesn't have its own REIT Capital gains tax, corporate tax, transfer tax - none has...

Russia tries to streamline.
April 2, 2007... A new statute lessens the many administrative burdens that plague developers in Russia and requires local government to put projects out to public tender Russia's planning system processes the welter of applications it has to deal with...

Fortis.
April 2, 2007... Rarely does a deal in the Belgian market go by without the Fortis name being bandied about-whether that be as an occupier, developer or investor. Fortis Real Estate is a 100% subsidiary of the banking and insurance organisation Fortis and...

French lawmakers crack down on cross-border deals.
April 2, 2007... New legislation will negate the tax advantages of registering property companies in Luxembourg, and foreigners will find it harder to stage a partial takeover of a French REIT The French government is cracking down on Luxembourg-based...

Investors in Italian property seek respite from upheaval.
April 2, 2007... New VAT laws, the arrival of Italian REITs and "60 -day decree" rules disrupt the market Italy's reputation as a stable fiscal environment, if it ever was one, has taken a fair few knocks over the past six months. Last July, the...

Tax and Legal.
April 2, 2007... European countries are competing with each other to reduce taxes and red tape and become havens for investors. But governments are also clamping down on tax avoidance With yields falling across Europe, the question of how much tax to pay...

Lower rates, broader base.
April 2, 2007... The G-REIT may be talked about now, but Germany's subsidiary tax rules will catch more investors using a German subsidiary. And in Holland, more flexible REIT rules are planned The introduction of the real estate investment trust (REIT)...