Euro Property articles from February 2004

Euro Property archives from February 2004

Beni Stabili.
February 1, 2004... The company recently took a share in a 170m international portfolio, but tends to invest mainly in northern Italy. It is also expanding its fund management division Quoted Italian property company and fund manager Beni Stabili has mainly...

Wary lenders make developers think again.
February 1, 2004... Research in Germany shows that banks are already less willing to back property schemes with a risk element, as they prepare for new rules on bank reserves that come into force in 2007. Developers may have to find new funding sources or ways of...

Heard in the Eurolounge.
February 1, 2004... Investors feel Russia optimism Attendees at the recent Urban Land Institute conference left for the first coffee break somewhat shocked after finding that the organisation's Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe report (see left) was touting...

Research briefs.
February 1, 2004... There has been an alarming loss of focus in UK companies' efforts to align their property strategy and business plan, according to Drivers Jonas. The firm's survey of UK occupiers found that only 66% have a property strategy within their...

Optimistic investors tip EU entrants to be stars of 2004.
February 1, 2004... Cities on the periphery but set to join the EU will be the new hunting grounds for property buyers Most European markets have suffered from weak economies in the past 12 months, yet property investors are cautiously optimistic about the...

Vastned.
February 1, 2004... The group's retail fund is consolidating its portfolio after expanding into southern Europe, while the industrial/office fund is shrinking as demand and values decline With VastNed's office/industrial fund shrinking and feeling the effects of...

Europe starts the year with a rise after progress for all regions in 2003.
February 1, 2004... European property stocks rose 7.1% from 14 November 2003 to 19 January 2004, while the Global index rose 3.1%, North America fell 1.3% and Asia was the strongest performer at 10.4%. All regions finished 2003 well up; Europe by 20.4%, Asia by...

SEB ImmoInvest.
February 1, 2004... Warsaw, Prague, Stockholm and Canada are next on the German open-ended fund's investment wish list as it gears up to further expand its non-domestic holdings International investment will account for an increasing part of open-ended fund SEB...

Property finance.
February 1, 2004... As banks become more cautious in their lending criteria, new players and innovative forms of securitisation are moving in to fill the financing gap Last year wasn't a good one for property financing. Property markets were subdued and the need...

Battle rages over top German property firm.
February 1, 2004... Immofinanz and HSH Nordbank with Goldman Sachs are competing for a 50% stake in IVG, Germany's biggest property company. The deal would provide Austrian company Immofinanz with a foothold in Germany while fitting in well with its existing...

Germany can seize the opportunities.
February 1, 2004... At the end of last year there were the first real signs that Germany's property markets and banking system will restructure and develop into a more international market. The sale by Hypo Real Estate Bank (HREB) of a 490m portfolio of...

Investors and tenants are given new duties.
February 1, 2004... The Stamp Duty Land Tax, introduced by the UK government as a replacement for the stamp duty regime, widens the scope of taxable transactions and introduces a new form of lease tax. The new tax also enacts more onerous compliance obligations...

New players take on cross-border risks.
February 1, 2004... Very few banks have the capacity or will to take on the complex funding arrangements for pan-European property deals. But Eurohypo has proved that it can be done, and smaller banks are stepping in to finance the riskier types of property...

More deals but less value in M&A market.
February 1, 2004... The total value of the European mergers and acquisitions market fell 40% to $27bn in 2003, leaving advisers working harder for less reward. Deutsche Bank took number one spot in the European advisers table, knocking Credit Suisse First Boston...

People.
February 1, 2004... Peacock stands down at JLL Chris Peacock has resigned as president and chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle, with immediate effect. JLL said it would begin a global external and internal search for a new chief executive. In the interim, the...

Germany finds true path to market growth.
February 1, 2004... Morgan Stanley pointed the way to the securitisation market's future last year when it achieved the first true pan-European issue. But the complexity of such deals, and investors' reluctance to accept higher risks, may hamper attempts to...

Banks aim to make the best of their bad lot.
February 1, 2004... German banks have been bedevilled by non-performing loans for years, but HREB's recent sale of a bad loan portfolio to US buyers is the first sign that the sector is facing up to the problem. A more flexible approach from both sides may lead...

German offices continue to suffer with 4% take-up fall.
February 1, 2004... Take-up in the nine largest German cities fell by 4% in 2003 compared to the previous year, according to research by Atis Real Muller. Office take-up reached 2.38m m2 with Stuttgart, Cologne and Essen among the best performers. Stuttgart was...

Competitors on the horizon spur revamp for Warsaw shopping centres.
February 1, 2004... Owners of shopping centres in Warsaw are increasing and diversifying their offer as new competition from centres under development comes closer to fruition. Jones Lang LaSalle reports that three large shopping and leisure centres will open in...

Risanamento.
February 1, 2004... The Italian property company's flagship scheme is a new city quarter in Milan, and it recently bought former Fiat subsidiary, IPI, whose strength is in property services Quoted Italian property company Risanamento looks set to become one of...

Southern Funding.
February 1, 2004... The finance specialist has provided funding for UK clients to buy everything from HQ offices to filling station portfolios but is new to the continental investment scene "No is not a word we readily accept," boasts the website of Southern...

Kenmore.
February 1, 2004... Having started out as a small Scottish developer, the company has branched out into continental investment, taking a non sector-specific, opportunistic attitude to deals John Kennedy is no stranger to debt. In the 1980s, he mortgaged virtually...