Euro Property articles from April 2008

Euro Property archives from April 2008

Where in the world should we expand?
April 7, 2008... Redevco's choice of region for its second property portfolio was determined by methodical statistical analysis Dutch property company Redevco's mainly retail portfolio, worth around 7.6bn, is concentrated in western Europe with some...

UK targets empty properties.
April 7, 2008... Gordon Brown's first Budget cracks down on rate relief on empty property, changes the law on rental income from PAIF assets and imposes stamp duty on sharia-compliant deals Government plans to crack down on empty property relief are a big...

French government seeks ban on 'captive' SIICs.
April 7, 2008... New laws put in place by previous administration will eclipse new government's reform A new president and government have made the past 12 months an eventful period in French legislation. But promises of reform by prime minister Francois...

Norway enacts 10-year rule.
April 7, 2008... Revised value-added tax laws mean that landlords can recover the 25% VAT incurred on the building costs only if their tenant pays VAT and stays in the building for 10 years This year, Norway revised its value-added tax (VAT) on buildings....

HDG Mansur.
April 7, 2008... The US-based fund and asset manager launched its $1.9bn shariah-compliant fund in 2002, and is planning to launch two more non-sharia vehicles. It also owns a number of smaller, diverse assets US-based HDG Mansur entered the European...

Fears grow after Germany targets interest deductions.
April 7, 2008... New rules lower corporate tax but restrict interest deductions to less than 30% of earnings Business people often moan about taxes. But in Germany the whole business community has turned against the government over tax laws introduced in...

Spain tackles the speculators.
April 7, 2008... The most recent land law, or Ley de Suelo, revamps the designations for land types, provides for social housing and forbids valuing land as buildable until it is developed Although it was introduced in September 2006 and came into force in...

Segro.
April 7, 2008... The recently converted REIT specialises in industrial and logistics space and, with its healthy balance sheet, is eyeing expansion into CEE Segro's 2007 was action-packed: it converted to REIT status, re-branded its corporate identity and...

Pirelli-led consortium to buy 49% stake in retail portfolio.
April 7, 2008... Arcandor succeeds in negotiating deal with Pirelli, RREEF and Borletti after credit crunch scuppers plan to sell entire 164-building German investment Following months of negotiations, a consortium of Pirelli, RREEF and Borletti agreed to...

VAT options in Hungary, special permits in Poland.
April 7, 2008... A succinct roundup of property and tax law developments in central and eastern Europe Since the start of this year, both property owners and lessors in Hungary now have the right to choose whether their transactions are subject to VAT or...

The buying boom that wasn't.
April 7, 2008... Investors had high hopes for the German retail sector, but the credit crunch and economic gloom has made the country's consumers more wary - and prompted a price correction If there is one lesson to learn from the Karstadt department store...

Tax and legal.
April 7, 2008... The German government moves to restrict interest deductions just when the economy is slowing. In France, lawmakers impose a 60% cap on single-entity ownership of a SIIC Banjamin Franklin said that nothing was certain except death and...

Philips pension fund sells Dutch office investment.
April 7, 2008... The pension fund of Dutch electronics firm Philips has sold an office portfolio to Dutch investor Nieuwe Steen Investments for 143. The portfolio comprises eight assets in the Netherlands and covers 73,000 m2 of office space. Around 75% of the...

Schroders buys Swiss Re asset management arm.
April 7, 2008... Schroders has bought Swiss Re's asset management business, Swiss Re Asset Management Funds (Switzerland ) AG. The fund manages [pounds sterling]0.9bn (1.15bn) of assets spread across six funds. The funds invest in shares, portfolios and...

In brief.
April 7, 2008... Pirelli fund sells Milan officePirelli RE's opportunity fund, Patrimonio Uffici, has sold an office in Milan to a private investor for 100m. The 9,800m2 asset is located in the centre of the city. Pirelli said the sale was a 17% increase on the...

Will Spain's government step in to soften the blow?
April 7, 2008... As asset values fall and lending dries up, property companies look to the public purse One of the panellists during a recent discussion at the ESADE business school in Madrid said the unspeakable. He admitted to taking calls from the...

Otkritie Financial Corporation.
April 7, 2008... The multi-faceted Moscow-based investment bank led a consortium that sold the first Moscow property bought by a German open-ended fund, and its development company has just agreed a five-project deal An international consortium led by...

Partners to fund mixed project in Rome.
April 7, 2008... ING and Babcock & Brown will jointly fund the development of a mixed-use project outside Rome.The two companies are in due diligence with a local Italian developer, Gruppo Scarpellini, for the funding of the Romanina project, located east of...

British Land jv to hold retail assets.
April 7, 2008... British Land and retail giant Sainsbury have teamed up to form a [pounds sterling]1.2bn (1.5bn) joint venture to hold 39 of the retailer's largest stores across the UK. The securitised vehicle comprises a [pounds sterling]544m equity stake...

Redevco helps Turkish authorities in probe.
April 7, 2008... Redevco has been caught up in a corruption probe in Turkey. The Netherlands-based investor said it is working with the Turkish authorities in an inquiry about its purchase of development land in Edirne. Redevco bought the Edirne Municipality...

Colonial's creditors reject ICD's offer for 50% stake.
April 7, 2008... Colonial is selling its 84% stake in Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise to write down its debt after the Investment Corporation of Dubai failed to buy the Spanish company. Colonial's creditors have said they are confident in its business plan after...

KanAm Grund in pioneering deal for German funds.
April 7, 2008... Otkritie-led consortium sells $900m portfolio of prime assets to open-ended fund KanAm Grund has become the first German open-ended fund manager to buy in Moscow with its $900m (569m) purchase of prime offices. The deal will pave the way...

Mansford.
April 7, 2008... The London-based private investor specialises in sale and leaseback deals and has 450m to invest in assets in its core markets of France and Germany, but also in Belgium and Switzerland Sale-and-leaseback deals could become more popular as...

Protego buys Helsinki retail asset from Boultbee.
April 7, 2008... Protego Real Estate Investors has bought the Kamppi Shopping Centre in Helsinki for its Nordic Retail Fund. Protego paid Boultbee 452.5m for the centre, which reflects a net initial yield of 4.5%, expected to increase to around 6% in 2012. When...

Plaza Centers to spend [euro]2bn on CEE retail and leisure.
April 7, 2008... Asset disposals in Hungary and Poland give the retail and leisure specialist cash for acquiring assets and allow it to pay its first dividend to shareholders London and Warsaw-listed retail and leisure specialist Plaza Centers has built a...

Transparency will help retire the debt.
April 7, 2008... Europe's 30 biggest property companies together have 22.6bn of short-term debt. With the lending market on its knees, you wonder how this huge amount of debt is going to be refinanced. The figure does not even include the total amount of...

Commerz Real buys [euro]37m Amsterdam office project.
April 7, 2008... Commerz Real has agreed to buy a development project, entitled De West, in Amsterdam. Commerz Real has bought the 11,000 m2 office scheme from Dutch developer Fortress for 37m. The eight-story building is located in the Teleport-Sloterdijk area...

Foruminvest puts pair of Italian assets on market.
April 7, 2008... Dutch investor and developer Foruminvest is selling two shopping centres in Italy for around 350m.The assets are in the southern region of Puglia and in the east of the country. Tenants of the 42,000 m2 southern asset in Molfetta, known as...

In brief.
April 7, 2008... Crownstone offers Rome officeCambridge Place and Australian group Valad's Crownstone Properties vehicle is marketing a Rome office asset for C120m, a yield of above 6%, according to a source. The building is fully let to IT giant IBM, which...

Aedes seeks cash from closed-end fund sell-off.
April 7, 2008... Italian property company aims to market assets from vehicles to raise money amid continuing domestic market gloom Italian property company Aedes is selling assets from its funds in a bid to raise cash.The Milan-based investor, which has...

In brief.
April 7, 2008... Realia buys and sells in MadridSpanish listed company Realia has bought an office for nearly C40m and sold industrial land for more than C40m in Madrid. The building, in the Arroyo de la Vega business park in Alcobendas in the north of the...

Cash-strapped firms seek ways to pay back the bank.
April 7, 2008... Low share prices and a moribund property market will make it difficult for Europe's property companies to service their combined 22.6bn in short-term loans With the lending markets shutting down, listed property companies will find it...

Milton Gate sets City letting record.
April 7, 2008... The 196,000 sq ft (18,200 m2) Milton Gate office building in the City of London has been fully let to law firm Addleshaw Goddard on a 16.5 year lease at [pounds sterling]53.50 (67.7) per sq ft. The deal represents the biggest letting in the...

Unibail-Rodamco puts Euronext base on market.
April 7, 2008... Unibail-Rodamco is selling the headquarters of Euronext in Paris.The Franco-Dutch company is believed to be looking for around 200m for the 17,000m2 prime property, in Rue Cambon in the French capital's central business district, according to a...

Aberdeen to sell Norwegian asset.
April 7, 2008... Aberdeen is planning to sell an office building in Norway from its Aberdeen Property Fund Norway I fund. The move to sell the Helsfyr Panorama Office in Oslo comes after an investor asked to pull out of the fund. The 21,392 m2 building is let...

Is the Netherlands still a haven for head offices?
April 7, 2008... Recent research details the country's eroding position as a global corporate base The Netherlands' fiscally attractive climate has made it a stronghold for head offices. Of the world's 500 biggest companies, according to Fortune Global, 16...

Catella to launch mezzanine fund.
April 7, 2008... Catella is planning to launch a mezzanine fund this summer that will be managed from its Copenhagen office. Through selective marketing, the group is aiming to raise 100m in equity for the fund, which will have the facility to invest up to...

Gazit-Citi duo bid for control of Meinl European Land.
April 7, 2008... 2007 probe into share buybacks prompted share price fall and has led to bid for Vienna-listed company, whose management and structure will be revamped Israeli real estate company Gazit-Globe and US investor Citi Property Investors have bid...

Financial sector job cuts to hit City rents and take-up.
April 7, 2008... CBI/PwC survey reveals rising redundancies and falling business incomes A slowdown in the UK financial services sector has hastened the rate of job cuts to their highest level in five years, according to the latest quarterly survey by...

Ministry leaves Norfin tenantless in Lisbon.
April 7, 2008... Portuguese fund Norfin is seeking new tenants after the Ministry of Justice pulled out of the biggest office leasing deal in Lisbon.The ministry was due to move into the 65,000 m[sup.2] building, owned by the local fund and built by developer...

Advisers row over Dutch data.
April 7, 2008... Total take-up in the Netherlands rose by 28% last year to 2.4m m2, said DTZ. But DTZ's figures contradicted those of CB Richard Ellis, which show total take up falling by 11.7%, to 1.5m m2 from 1.7m m2. Earlier, CBRE's preliminary figures...

Key data: INREV.
April 7, 2008... - Value of diversified funds exceeds that of sector-specific vehicles, while UK leads single-country fund table Diversified funds now account for over half the total value of the INREV database, despite the recent trend towards launching...

GIC eyes stake in Turkish shopping centre developer.
April 7, 2008... The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is believed to be in early talks to buy a 10% stake in Turkish shopping centre developer Multi Turkmall. The deal's estimated 5bn price tag equates to around 29 shopping centres. The main...

LaSalle, Pramerica and Invesco plan core fund launches.
April 7, 2008... Sluggish markets and tight credit fail to deter fund managers from raising cash for vehicles worth 7bn Despite adverse market conditions, three fund managers are set to launch five large European core funds with a combined investment...

Moscow logistic assets may set new benchmark.
April 7, 2008... Two logistics assets being put on the market in Moscow could set a new benchmark yield.Although selling agents are not releasing sale prices, a sale could set a benchmark yield for the nascent sector, which has a shortage of investment-grade...

Metrovacesa pulls out of [euro]1.1bn Corio portfolio race...
April 7, 2008... Rival bidder Lehman Brothers lowers bid after Spanish company leaves bidding war The sale of the 1.1bn Corio portfolio was put into jeopardy after Metrovacesa pulled out of the bidding war. The Spanish property company found the limited...

...amid a fire sale and legal wrangles.
April 7, 2008... Metrovacesa is facing problems at home and abroad after dropping out of the Corio portfolio race, embarking on another firesale at home and legal wrangling over the Walbrook Square scheme in London.The Spanish property company is selling three...

In brief.
April 21, 2008... IVG offloads 91m small assetsIVG has sold a portfolio of non-core properties to CIT Europe for 91m. IVG said the properties, with a size of between 2m and 18m each, were too small to keep. Originally, IVG had planned to sell more smaller...

Key data: The listed sector.
April 21, 2008... - Listed property companies' performance fall for the first time this year - Societe de la Tour Eiffel leads top firms The EPRA/NAREIT Europe Index is down for the first time on a composite level, year-to-date. The index ended March in...

The partye_SSRqs over in Paris.
April 21, 2008... The market in the French capital has slowed significantly, and is not helped by vendors still seeking last year's boom prices. But a few big deals have managed to complete This time last year, the Paris property world was in a party mood....

Tight credit pushes firms into sale and leaseback.
April 21, 2008... Finance strategy expected to gain in popularity as firms seek cash for expansion Commenting on the joint venture between Sainsbury and British land, property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, who owns a 10%-stake in the UK supermarket chain, told...

People.
April 21, 2008... GPT Halverton appoints NidaGPT Halverton has appointed Sebastien Nida to manage its new office in Lyon, France. He joins GPT Halverton from CB Richard Ellis, where he was a valuer specialising in the Rhone-Alpes region. GPT Halverton now has 11...

Norway's Pension Fund - Global.
April 21, 2008... The government of Norway's investment vehicle for funding its public pensions has recently decided to allocate 12bn - or 5% of its total value - to global direct and indirect property investment The pension fund of the Norwegian government...

German cities enjoy lift as vacant space fills up.
April 21, 2008... The office markets of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are showing falling vacancy rates and increasing rents in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago, according to CB Richard Ellis. Despite a drop in first-quarter take-up by...

Banks throw lifeline before their clients go under.
April 21, 2008... Many borrowers are in trouble, but repossessions are in nobody's best interest So far, the number of banks having to seize property after loans turned sour has been limited. Forced sales have largely been the result of property funds with...

Deutsche Post delivers [euro]1bn leaseback deal for Lone Star.
April 21, 2008... More than 1,200 commercial properties across Germany will provide US-based private equity firm with 86m annual rent in "tailored" programme Lone Star has bought a property portfolio from Deutsche Post for 1bn. The portfolio consists of...

Fishman Group.
April 21, 2008... The Israeli conglomerate, through its real estate subsidiaries, has done sales and leasebacks in western Europe, and is developing projects in Russia and eastern Europe, as well as India Israeli investors are becoming more active across...

Key data: non-listed sector.
April 21, 2008... - Credit crunch and inflation hits interest rates - Inflation rises to 3.5%, 150 basis points over the EU's target - The rally seen at the beginning of the year with interest rates declining in both short and medium-term periods was...

Venetian office trophy floats onto market.
April 21, 2008... Italian state broadcaster RAI is selling a prestigious office asset in Venice. The government-backed media giant has decided to leave its Palazzo Labia base in Venice for the mainland of Mestre.RAI has appointed real estate agent REAG as...

Commerz Real and UFG buy Lazard assets.
April 21, 2008... French construction company Groupe Lazard has sold a number of assets in France to Commerz Real and UFG.Commerz Real bought two office developments from Lazard for around 50m. Both assets, the Parc Cezanne and the Ar Mor Plaza in southern and...

In brief.
April 21, 2008... Grosvenor's Paris purchaseGrosvenor has spent C20m on eight retail assets in central Paris. Deutsche Bank's RREEF sold the assets on the corner of Boulevard Montmartre and Rue Drouot in the French capital's 9th arrondissement. Tenants include...

Investors eye up Switzerland's safe and steady market.
April 21, 2008... The country is taking steps to simplify its complicated bureaucracy, and its restricted supply and sound economy are making it increasingly popular with cautious investors Despite some stalled deals and the global credit crunch, Swiss...

Key data: German open-ended funds.
April 21, 2008... - Vehicles take in 1.2bn in February - UBS's Euroinvest Immobilien fund leads table with 175m inflow - Germany's open-ended funds collected 1.2bn in February, nearly as much as in January when they had inflows of 1.4bn. - UBS' Euroinvest...

Austria and Switzerland.
April 21, 2008... Even though the credit crunch is expected to breach the defences of these formerly isolated markets this year, they still attract international investors who seek safe opportunities Switzerland had its first brush with the credit crunch...

Banks' figures are too big to understand.
April 21, 2008... Ernst & Young recently calculated that German banks have 200bn of bad debt in their books. This is not debt accumulated during the current credit squeeze, but is a legacy of the banks' misadventures in eastern Germany after the Berlin Wall came...

Retailers look to emerging markets for future growth.
April 21, 2008... CBRE survey reveals enthusiasm for India and Ukraine Retailers are increasingly attracted by the world's emerging markets for future business opportunities according to CB Richard Ellis. Some 40 % of respondents to CBRE's Global Emerging...

Fidelity makes debut in Germany.
April 21, 2008... Fidelity International's real estate business has opened an office in Munich and made its first purchase in Germany for Fidelity's new Pan European Real Estate Fund. The new office, which needs regulatory notifications, will be manned by Keith...

IVG Funds buys first phase of Helsinki Park.
April 21, 2008... IVG has bought the first phase of Polaris Business Park in Helsinki for its IVG Funds arm. IVG Funds paid 24m for the property, which was developed and sold by NCC and Alfred Palmberg. The first phase, called Vega, was finished in March and is...

King Sturge opens pair of offices in Spain.
April 21, 2008... King Sturge has opened two Spanish offices.The UK property consultant has added Seville and Malaga to its network, bringing the total number of offices in Spain to nine. The offices will offer consultancy services in land and investment, agency...

Analysts predict bleak future for debt-heavy Eurocastle.
April 21, 2008... Morgan Stanley cuts Eurocastle's share price target by more than half as large write-downs send the investment company plunging to a fourth-quarter loss Morgan Stanley analysts have slashed their rating and price targets on Eurocastle...

US tycoon favours developing world.
April 21, 2008... US property tycoon Sam Zell does not see any buying opportunities in the UK or Europe. Speaking at the NAREIT conference, the chairman of Equity Group Investments said he was buying real estate only in emerging market economies, as there were...

Park Plaza spends [euro]22m to buy into Croatia hotel assets.
April 21, 2008... Hotel owner and operator Park Plaza has bought a 20%-stake in a Goldman Sachs vehicle which owns hotel assets in Croatia. Park Plaza bought the stake in WM/DMREF Bora, which owns 74% of Arenaturist, a public company on the Zagreb stock...

White Estate leads group buying part of Corio portfolio.
April 21, 2008... ING Real Estate decides against making bid for French logistics assets Dutch investor White Estate and GPT Halverton are this week set to buy parts of the 1.1bn Corio portfolio. Corio wants to reach a deal by 24 April, one day before chief...

Sonae Sierra.
April 21, 2008... With 30 local and international partnerships in 10 countries, the Portuguese retail developer is expanding - and seeing its profits increase Earlier this month, Sonae Sierra launched the Sierra Portugal Fund, a 300m shopping centre...

RBS/ABN axes property jobs.
April 21, 2008... Royal Bank of Scotland and its newly purchased bank, ABN Amro, have between them shed up to 100 property-related jobs. RBS staff are believed to comprise the majority of the redundancies. Both of the banks' real estate teams have been warned...

After the boom, Spanish firms go up against the wall.
April 21, 2008... After property prices hit irrational highs and big firms had taken on enormous debt, Spain's market is now toppling under the credit crunch. Five Spanish experts assess the effects Along with the UK and Ireland, Spain has been hit harder...

Q1 2008 derivatives volume nears 2007 level.
April 21, 2008... The volume of UK commercial property derivatives traded in the first quarter of 2008 may have beaten the record of [pounds sterling]2.9bn (3.6bn) set in the first quarter of 2007. Deals worth between [pounds sterling]2.5bn and [pounds...

Redevco.
April 21, 2008... The Dutch property investor and developer focuses on retail in established European economies, but has big plans to expand in Turkey, and is eyeing bargains in the weakening UK retail and office market Dutch retail investor and developer...

In brief.
April 21, 2008... CEE housing plannedBuwog/EsG Group, the residential arm of Immofinanz, said it plans large-scale residential developments in central and eastern Europe next year. The company will start building 1,000 flats next year and plans to develop up to...

German returns rise while Spanish property suffers.
April 21, 2008... IPD 2007 property returns data shows biggest European losers and gainers German property delivered 4.5% total returns last year, a 320 basis point increase on 2006, according to the latest data from IPD. Total returns in Italy and...

LandSec to sell 33% share of Bullring.
April 21, 2008... Land Securities is to sell its one-third stake in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. The stake is expected to fetch more than [pounds sterling]300m (375.8m), claims the Financial Times.Land Securities developed the landmark, 111,480m2...

In brief.
April 21, 2008... Franco-Dutch firm sells shopsUnibail-Rodamco is selling eight prime high-street retail assets in Belgium. The properties, which are in Aalst, Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, are to be sold as a portfolio for around C80m. The sale is part of the...

Lithuanian retail centre fails to attract buyer.
April 21, 2008... Irish Duke House Asset Managers has failed to sell the Gedimino 9 shopping centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, after six months of attempts.The fund manager is understood to have received significant international interest at first. But a source...

Swedish state gives green light to Vasakronan sale.
April 21, 2008... Swedish state-owned property company Vasakronan has been put up for sale after months of speculation about its future. Vasakronan, which is one of the country's biggest property companies, focuses on office and retail premises and owns 171...