Euro Property articles from June 2005

Euro Property archives from June 2005

Viterra lands on Terra Firma in [euro]7bn homes sale.
June 1, 2005... German public housing sell-off continues as private equity firm beats rivals to portfolio of 150,000 homes European private equity firm Terra Firma has cemented its leading role in the German public housing market by taking the prized Viterra...

Ships fund tries a different launch.
June 1, 2005... Lloyd Fonds, a German fund manager specialising in shipping funds, is to enter the property closed-end funds market this autumn. The manager already has one closed-end property fund but wants to expand "massively", according to head of real...

Funds line up benchmark central Europe purchases.
June 1, 2005... New benchmark yields are about to be set in Warsaw and Bratislava. In Warsaw Germany's DB Real Estate is understood to be poised to buy GTC's 12,000m[sup.2] Topaz office building for around [euro]27m, which would reflect a yield of below 7%....

Immofinanz securitisation is a first for Austrian market.
June 1, 2005... Austrian property company's [euro]250m issue is based on innovative mortgage structure Immofinanz has launched the first commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS) deal in Austria. The Austrian property firm's [euro]250m securitisation...

Oppenheim sets sub-6 % retail park yield.
June 1, 2005... Resolution Property has sold a portfolio of five Swedish retail parks to German fund manager Sal. Oppenheim for SKr2.6bn ([euro]283.2m), setting a benchmark sub-6% yield for the sector. Market observers put the deal's initial yield at under 6%,...

Klepierre spends [euro]425m on Plaza Center spree.
June 1, 2005... French property company Klepierre is acquiring a [euro]425m portfolio of central European shopping centres from Plaza Centers (Europe). The deal comprises [euro]205m for four centres already open in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan and Ruda, totalling...

Gennies takes charge of Deka's funds shake-up.
June 1, 2005... Deka Immobilien Invest's new chief executive Reinhardt Gennies will take the helm at the fund manager this month, with a remit to restore retail investors' confidence. Gennies is expected to reveal new measures and a code of conduct after...

Morgan Stanley and Pirelli strike Italian office deal.
June 1, 2005... The joint venture between Pirelli RE and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF) has bought a [euro]255m office portfolio. The purchase, from Glenbrook Operae, a joint venture between the US's Glenbrook Real Estate Fund and Italian consultant...

Election call casts doubt on German REITs legislation.
June 1, 2005... REIT plans may go on hold until after autumn election Germany's prospects of getting a real estate investment trust (REIT) by January 2006 have been dealt a blow after the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP) called an early election this...

Fadesa joins Polish firm to build Warsaw homes.
June 1, 2005... Spanish property company Fadesa has teamed up with local developer Prokom Investments to build residential schemes in the Polish capital. The first scheme will comprise 1,355 flats on a 118,000m[sup.2] plot owned by Prokom in Wilanow, a...

Still time for managers to make fantasy come true.
June 1, 2005... Entries for the EuroProperty/LaSalle Investment Management fantasy fund manager game are due in by 30 June. Each player has [euro]1bn of equity to divide between three sectors across 23 markets. The fantasy funds' performance will be tracked...

CGI adds Dutch centre to disposals list.
June 1, 2005... German open-ended fund CGI has sold the Stadshart Amstelveen shopping centre, near Amsterdam, for [euro]296m to Dutch property company Rodamco Europe. The deal reflects a yield of 5.9% for the first three years. The sale is part of a trend...

Gazeley industrial sale set to smash 7% yield barrier.
June 1, 2005... Competition for Continental portfolio and asset quality should set new benchmark The industrial market is bracing itself for a record 7% yield on a [euro]170m European portfolio being marketed by UK industrial developer Gazeley. Four buyers...

GE strengthens French grip with [euro]370m portfolio deal.
June 1, 2005... Acquisition of French property and management companies brings GE a portfolio of 85 largely office buildings, building up the company's presence in the regions GE Commerical Finance Real Estate France has bought a portfolio from a French...

AM adds seventh Spanish scheme.
June 1, 2005... Dutch developer AM is to build its seventh Spanish shopping centre, in Oviedo. The 40,000m[sup.2] Espacio Oviedo scheme has been designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava as part of the planned Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones...

SEB is first up for Fitch rating system.
June 1, 2005... Fitch has completed its first rating of a German open-ended fund, grading SEB ImmoInvest as REAM2- under its new rating system for fund managers. The REAM (Real Estate Manager Rating) scale goes from 1 - the best rating - down to 5. German fund...

Tishman Speyer notches up third core London deal.
June 1, 2005... US property company Tishman Speyer has made its third acquisition for its core European fund with a [pounds sterling]280m deal in London. The European Strategic Office Fund has bought Goldman Sachs' 34,000m[sup.2] European headquarters building...

Prudential splashes out on retail development in Lyon.
June 1, 2005... Prudential Property Investment Managers has provided [euro]26.8m to fund a Lyon retail scheme. Grand Bazar de Lyon, which has a prime position on the retail street rue de la Republique, will house a Monoprix store, 1,564m[sup.2] of retail let...

Mills' Scottish steel plant scheme gets green light.
June 1, 2005... A consortium including The Mills Corporation has gained planning permission for its [pounds sterling]1bn redevelopment of the former Ravenscraig steelworks site in Scotland. The US retail real estate investment trust is the retail and leisure...

Aberdeen mixes it with Swedish property fund.
June 1, 2005... Aberdeen Property investors has launched a mixed-use Swedish property fund aimed at Swedish and international institutional investors. The core-plus fund will be semi-open ended and will have a target size of between SKr2bn and SKr5bn, with a...

Atrium unveils pan-Europe fund of funds.
June 1, 2005... Portuguese fund manager Atrium Investimentos has launched the market's second pan-European property fund of funds. Pan-European Real Estate Fund of Funds (PREFF) has completed its first closing, raising [euro]58m from institutional clients. It...

UK derivatives deals pave way for Continental issues.
June 1, 2005... Protego considers Continental property derivatives issue, following interest created by its [pounds sterling]200m PICs launch and issues from the Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK The first Continental property derivatives trades could take...

Orr to join new JLL arm targeting international investors.
June 1, 2005... Jones Lang LaSalle has formed an International Capital Group, tempting Robert Orr, the firm's European chief executive, back to a client-facing role. Orr will be joined by Guy Hollis, head of China for JLL, and Noble Carpenter, a senior leader...

Texaco sale and leaseback fuels Somerfield schemes.
June 1, 2005... Texaco has sold 118 petrol station sites to Deutsche UK Property Ventures Fund No 2, UK investor Palmer Capital Partners (PCP) and supermarket chain Somerfield. Deutsche and PCP acquired 105 sites, of which 101 are freehold, for around [pounds...

British Land's [pounds sterling]811m Pillar bid offers route into Europe.
June 1, 2005... Deal would include the Pillar Retail Europark Fund, with a potential value of [euro]530m UK property company British Land has made a [pounds sterling]811m bid for fellow listed property company Pillar Property. The bid offers shareholders 855p...

Doughty sells Danish asset.
June 1, 2005... UK fund manager Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate Fund and Danish property developer Sjaelsoe Gruppen have sold a central Copenhagen office building to DAI, a financial services subsidiary of Danish bank Egnsbank Han Herred. The building, which...

Two bidders vie for Metrovacesa offices.
June 1, 2005... The US's Colony Capital and Spanish banking group BBVA are understood to be bidding against each other for two Madrid office buildings placed on the market by Spanish property company Metrovacesa with a [euro]650m price tag. The buildings are...

PBW crosses the Danube for Budapest park acquisition.
June 1, 2005... PBW Real Estate Fund has bought the mixed use MOM Park in Budapest. No price was disclosed. The park comprises a 30,000m[sup.2] shopping centre and 17,250m[sup.2] of offices plus parking. The vendor was a development joint venture between...

IPD speakers warn of risks in economy for investors.
June 1, 2005... Unemployment and weak dollar are a danger, Grove boss Richard Mully warns The weight of money targeting property is causing international investors to underestimate the risks of investment in the sector, Richard Mully, managing director of...

CWHB forges Bulgarian link.
June 1, 2005... Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker (CWHB) has signed up Forton International as its Bulgarian associate office. Forton, part of property advisory company Address Group, has 100 staff across six offices in the country. It provides agency,...

Euronews in brief.
June 1, 2005... CBRE scraps takeovera CB Richard Ellis has backed out of an [pounds sterling]18m deal to buy UK company Nelson Bakewell, after fears that disgruntled key NB staff would defect on completion of the deal. Mike Hatt, Nelson Bakewell's managing...

Dutch and German buyers are latest to take slice of Turkey.
June 1, 2005... Recent purchases in Instanbul and Izmir by Corio and CGI respectively underline the growing attractions of the Turkish market, whose office and retail sectors are maturing The Turkish property market is becoming a target for international...

Islamic investors look west.
June 1, 2005... The UK is the favourite investment location for Shariah funds, which are targeting up to [euro]10bn at European markets, with industrial assets the most favoured property type The UK and France are the most popular destinations for the growing...

Investors pursue dream yields in new Baltic markets.
June 1, 2005... Funds are being launched to target high returns in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, where local partnerships are essential to overcome language barriers and track down deals Investor interest in the three Baltic states has been heating up since...

People.
June 1, 2005... Room for Kloszewski at Colliers hotels Alex Kloszewski, former chief executive of the InterContinental Hotels group in Poland and the Czech Republic, has joined Colliers International to head the firm's hotels department. Kloszewski will be...

Managers must do more than hunt high returns.
June 1, 2005... Fund managers need stable teams and wide, cross-border networks to consistently meet the demand for core returns European property fund management has come of age. Last month's EuroProperty fund management supplement (page 22) showed the...

Heard in the Eurolounge.
June 1, 2005... Wheel of fortune for South Bank A property dispute is threatening one of London's most famous landmarks. Just five years after the London Eye ferris wheel changed the capital's skyline, landlord the South Bank Centre is looking for a 1,500%...

Stumpf.
June 1, 2005... The Austrian private developer plans to expand on two fronts, targeting mainly industrial and retail assets in central Europe and office-based developments in the London market Private Austrian developer Stumpf is keen to spread its business...

Folksam.
June 1, 2005... The Swedish insurer has made its first big move out of its domestic market by investing in Aberdeen's new property fund of funds. It aims to invest a further [euro]200m abroad by 2010 Folksam, Sweden's third biggest mutual insurance company...

Valore Immobiliare Globale.
June 1, 2005... Legislation in 2003 encouraged Deutsche Bank to be first to enter the Italian property funds market, where it has already launched three funds, with another three scheduled for launch Germany's Deutsche Bank was the first company to launch an...

Key data: Occupiers.
June 1, 2005... Low take-up belies potential for Dublin office lettings Dublin office take-up amounted to only 2,767m[sup.2] during the first quarter of the year, but this figure belies the true strength of the market, according to research by CB Richard Ellis...

Rents start to edge up across Europe.
June 1, 2005... Office rents have started rising across Europe, according to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). The firm's EU-15 Rent index recorded an 0.8% rise in the first quarter of 2005. Year-on-year growth is still negative, but the firm says that with the index...

Key data: INREV.
June 1, 2005... Over 80% of investors polled aim to raise property allocations Diversification is main reason for investment INREV reports growing appetite for non-listed funds Over 80% of investors questioned in INREV's first annual survey of investor and...

Key data: Non-listed sector.
June 1, 2005... IXIS AEW Europe closed its corporate disposals fund in May IPD records rise in returns for Dutch property The making of a property giant Metrovacesa gained 30% of Gecina after buying stakes from insurers AGF and Azur-GMF for [euro]89.75...

Retail reverses Netherlands' decline.
June 1, 2005... The retail sector is leading the recovery in the Netherlands property market, halting a slide over the previous three years. All-property total returns were below their 16% peak in 2000, but rose to 7.7% in 2004 from 7.1% in 2003, largely...

Key data: German open-ended funds.
June 1, 2005... Net capital outflows from funds slowed in April DifaFonds-NR1 and Deka Immo continue to suffer outflows Investors continued to withdraw money from German open-ended funds in April, although on a much lesser scale than in March. Outflows...

Key data: The listed sector.
June 1, 2005... Swedish stocks continue to outperform the rest of Europe Slow progress on REITs has held back the UK index In April the EPRA/NAREIT Europe Index gained 3.3% to add to the good news so far this year. Sweden led for the second month running...

CSFB.
June 1, 2005... The bank has increased its securitisation activities with its first Continental issues. It has global ambitions, but for now the focus is western Europe Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has strong ambitions to expand its...

Nordic markets.
June 1, 2005... Stronger economic growth than in the eurozone has attracted investors to the Nordic property markets, but recovery is tentative and reliant on US economic prospects The Nordic region is very popular among international investors. The region's...

Sweden gears up for clock to strike recovery hour.
June 1, 2005... Vacancy rates are high but the market has bottomed out and rents should rise again in 2006 An outsider could be forgiven for thinking that nothing much has changed in the Swedish property market in the past year. The talk is still of a...

House price bubble may burst Danish confidence.
June 1, 2005... House prices have been driving the Danish market but interest rate rises could halt growth Denmark's central bank recently calculated that if short-term interest rates rose by just 1 percentage point, homeowners' interest expenses would on...

Foreign investors brave a dip in Finnish waters.
June 1, 2005... Economic growth is attracting foreign investors to Finland despite signs of a faltering market The Finnish economy has been a small success story. While most of the eurozone economies have not recovered since the dotcom crash, the Finnish...

Grown-up IPD adopts sophisticated traits.
June 1, 2005... IPD plans indices to meet investor demand for more complex, geographically diverse data The Investment Property Databank (IPD) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with the launch of the first full pan-European benchmark. What would have...