Euro Property articles from May 2005

Euro Property archives from May 2005

DB Real Estate joins Germany's move to market.
May 1, 2005... Flexible make-up of DB portfolio sale allows potential buyers to cherry-pick domestic office properties DB Real Estate has become the latest fund manager to come to the market with a portfolio of German offices. Sources told EuroProperty that...

Blackstone buys Swedish capital quartet.
May 1, 2005... The Blackstone Group has bought four Stockholm properties from Swedish construction giant Skanska for SKr1.1bn ([euro]120m). The portfolio comprises 85,000m2 of office premises. It includes Apelsinen 5 in Solna, Sprengaren 8 in Sundbyberg, and...

Eurozone and ADIA link for Paris office buy.
May 1, 2005... Morgan Stanley's Eurozone core office fund has teamed up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to buy a prime Parisian office asset for [euro]150m. It bought the 14,000m2 3-5 Boulevard de Madeleine, in a deal which Stephane Theuriau,...

Casino set to make book on first French SIIC vehicle.
May 1, 2005... Deal illustrates effect of new SIIC 2 legislation in cutting capital gains tax burden as other companies prepare to follow suit and create their own SIIC vehicles Supermarket retailer Casino is set to create the French property market's first...

IXIS closes EPI fund at 50% over target.
May 1, 2005... Fund manager IXIS AEW Europe has closed its European Property Investors fund, raising equity of [euro]769m. The value-added fund was initially aiming for equity of [euro]500m. The fund focuses on buying portfolios from corporate owners and...

EBRD to invest equity in private Greek development fund.
May 1, 2005... Greek private equity firm Global Finance has received backing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for its eastern European property development fund. The EBRD will invest as much as [euro]30m equity in the Global...

Corio and CGI make debuts in Turkish property market.
May 1, 2005... Dutch investor Corio takes stake in Istanbul shopping centre fund while Germany's CGI acquires complex in Izmir, showing faith in Turkey's promise as a retail location A Dutch and a German investor have made their debuts in the Turkish property...

UBS fund first to set its own benchmark.
May 1, 2005... UBS Global Asset Management's Real Estate Euro Core fund is expected to be the first diversified eurozone fund to be measured by a specially created IPD benchmark. UBS has worked with IPD to create the benchmark, which initially reflects the...

Portuguese firm set to develop centres in Italy.
May 1, 2005... Portugal's Sonae Sierra is to develop two new shopping and leisure centres in the northern Italian towns of Biella and Caselle. The [euro]72m Bielle project will comprise 34,675m2 and include a hypermarket. The scheme is set to open in 2007....

Dutch fund attracts international interest.
May 1, 2005... Dutch pension fund BPF Bouwinvest has put a [euro]200m domestic portfolio on the market, and has attracted a number of international investors. The 20 office buildings in the portfolio, with total space of 123,619m2, have piqued the interest of...

Aberdeen's fund of funds in inaugural investment.
May 1, 2005... Europe's first fund of real estate funds has made its first investment. The Aberdeen Indirect Property Partners (AIPP) fund invested [euro]30m into IXIS AEW Europe's European Property Investors (EPI) fund. "IXIS AEW has proven to have a strong...

Schroder launches global fund with NY investor.
May 1, 2005... UK fund manager Schroder Property Investment Management has launched a global property securities fund with New York-based property boutique European Investors Incorporated. The Schroder International Selection Fund will be targeted at...

ECP snares its seventh Swedish centre.
May 1, 2005... Eurocommercial Properties has bought its seventh shopping centre in Sweden. It paid developer Konsum Vermland [euro]36m for the Bergvik Shopping Centre in Karlstad, reflecting an initial net yield of 6.3%. The centre has a lettable area of...

Second Dutch CMBS issue gets Eurohypo series on song.
May 1, 2005... Opera Finance series sees second Dutch commercial mortgage-backed securities transaction and also marks the European bank's first euro-denominated issue European bank Eurohypo has launched only the second Dutch commercial mortgage-backed...

Apollo links with SPG for first move into Swiss market.
May 1, 2005... Apollo Real Estate has teamed up with asset manager SPG Intercity Geneva for its debut in the Swiss market. It has bought Centre de Technologies Nouvelles, a 36,000m2 research and development facility in Plan-les-Ouates, for SFr88m ([euro]57m)...

CBRE-PwC win state nod for sale-and-leasebacks.
May 1, 2005... CB Richard Ellis and PricewaterhouseCoopers have won a mandate from the German state of Hessen to manage a sale-and-leaseback transaction on a number of its properties. The size of the portfolio has not been established yet, but the state's...

Metrovacesa plans business park to boost Madrid assets.
May 1, 2005... Two-stage development on land bought from Renault will involve seven buildings, a shopping centre, a 25-floor skyscraper and a new Spanish HQ for the carmaker Spanish property company Metrovacesa is set to increase its Madrid office portfolio...

Rose blooms again with Alpha.
May 1, 2005... Phillip Rose, the former head of real estate at ABN Amro, has joined with the UK's River & Mercantile Group to launch a new fund management business. Alpha Real Capital, a London-based property asset management and investment group, will...

Bleaker prospects push Scope into downgrading.
May 1, 2005... Rating agency Scope has downgraded seven German open-ended funds due to their deteriorating financial situation. Three ratings remain unchanged and ten were upgraded. Not one fund managed to score an AA or AAA rating. "The high number of...

Meinl adds to Hungary assets.
May 1, 2005... Meinl Land has bought two Hungarian shopping centres for [euro]30m. The centres, in Budapest and Szombathely, have a total lettable area of 27,000m2. Tenants include supermarket company Spar and German retailer Metro, with its electronics chain...

TSP takes first US steps into Indian market.
May 1, 2005... US fund manager Tishman Speyer Properties (TSP) has entered into the first joint venture by a US property company in India. TSI Venture is a 50/50 jv with Indian private equity group ICICI Venture Funds Management Company, which intends to...

Single measure would ease comparisons, says INREV.
May 1, 2005... Delegates to non-listed fund association conference in Budapest hear results of first study on final fees - and learn identity of new INREV chief executive INREV has called on its members to adopt a single measure, to allow investors to compare...

German funds forced into selling off trophy assets.
May 1, 2005... Germany's open-ended funds continue to sell trophy assets in a review of their European portfolios, as private investors keep on withdrawing money from the sector. In London, Difa is selling a major government headquarters plus a 20-storey City...

Record [euro]493m TIAA-CREF buy leads spate of Paris deals.
May 1, 2005... Purchase of Paris office and logistics centres is US investor's biggest European deal A record [euro]500m deal for US institution TIAA-CREF led a busy month for the Paris investment market. In its largest European acquisition yet, TIAA-CREF,...

DB relaunches investments unit.
May 1, 2005... Deutsche Bank is to restructure and expand its infrastructure investments business, a unit within the bank's Deutsche Asset Management division (DeAM). Previously an Australian-based operation, the unit will become a New York-based global...

Euronews in brief.
May 1, 2005... Falk files for insolvency Munich-based closed-ended fund manager Falk has filed for insolvency. Four of its companies, Falk Capital, Falk Asset Management, Falk Development and Falk Financial Marketing, are now in the hands of the receiver...

INREV writes rule book for secondary trading market.
May 1, 2005... Non-listed vehicles organisation plans guidelines to facilitate secondary trading in funds Transparency and the standardisation of fund information is the key to expanding the secondary market in non-listed funds, delegates were told at INREV's...

REITS may throw German funds a last-minute lifeline.
May 1, 2005... The advent of German REITs could offer troubled open-ended funds a way to transfer distressed domestic assets. But fund managers are reluctant to face such a scenario Last month the German finance ministry failed to publish the expected details...

Cautious occupiers make the most of vacant space.
May 1, 2005... Companies are making sure surplus space is utilised before expanding into new property Two thirds of respondents to the EuroProperty/Nelson Bakewell Occupier Sentiment Survey said they had no plans to increase floor space in the next 24 months,...

IPD pioneer marks 10 years.
May 1, 2005... The Dutch IPD index, which recently celebrated 10 years in operation, was a blueprint for property performance measurement that has been reproduced across European markets More than 300 property investors and advisers assembled in Utrecht on 24...

Good things come in small packaging.
May 1, 2005... One of the underlying themes that came through from INREV's inaugural conference in Budapest was that fund managers are preparing to meet the needs of smaller investors. The transparency that is expected to be achieved through INREV's valuable...

People.
May 1, 2005... Gellatly takes Merrill Lynch post John Gellatly, real estate investment banking director at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), is leaving to join Merrill Lynch Investment Management as head of indirect property investment and strategy....

Now is the REIT time to go global on investment.
May 1, 2005... Securitised property vehicles have already shown how successful they can be, but REITs add a new dimension Global property securities are an asset class that is gaining increasing investor attention worldwide. This is because global real estate...

Heard in the Eurolounge.
May 1, 2005... Roll up to play Fantasy Fund Manager EuroProperty and LaSalle Investment Management are launching a competition this month designed to test your fund management abilities in a perfect world. Fantasy Fund Manager gives you the chance to invest...

Ghelamco.
May 1, 2005... The Belgian developer is well established in Poland, where it has built office and housing schemes in Warsaw and is now looking to develop in the secondary city of Wroclaw The New Year kicked off to a promising start for Belgium-based...

Kaufman & Broad.
May 1, 2005... The French housebuilder is the sector's market leader and aims to bring in [euro]1bn in revenue this year. It is keeping an eye on foreign markets, but plans to consolidate domestically In March, Kaufman & Broad, the French subsidiary of US...

Sireo.
May 1, 2005... The German firm is moving into fund management and property outsourcing, as it reaches the end of the task it was formed to carry out, the sale of Deutsche Telekom's portfolio Sireo Real Estate Asset Management has completed the mission it was...

Keops.
May 1, 2005... The Danish investor has pursued a controversial strategy of using high levels of bond- financed debt to buy Swedish property for returns rather than underlying value Keops has been one of the most aggressive property buyers in Sweden. The...

Tornet.
May 1, 2005... The Swedish property group is one year into a seven-year plan to sell properties and return value to shareholders. Most of its remaining assets are offices in Sweden's main cities Since Lehman Brothers' SKr4.914bn ([euro]548m) takeover bid for...

Heitman.
May 1, 2005... The US fund manager recently closed the third in a series of funds targeting central European assets. The vehicles own a spread of property types, providing diversification benefits In October 2004, Heitman Central European Property Fund II...

Paris.
May 1, 2005... Limited supply has allowed the French capital to ride out a downturn in the leasing market, while in the investment market, competition for income-producing offices remains fierce Paris continues to be one of western Europe's most exciting and...

Confident investors bring a touch of spring to Paris.
May 1, 2005... A few brave investors are backing speculative schemes while others take on leasing risk The Paris office market is experiencing the first signs of spring from the investment community. In a market where signs of improved demand are inconsistent...

Spanish investors lead the cross-border charge.
May 1, 2005... Spanish, Italian and Irish buyers have been targeting Paris as German funds take a breather The Spanish are coming. Following Inmobiliaria Colonial's and Metrovacesa's takeovers of Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise (SFL) and Gecina respectively,...

Takover deals mark tip of the iceberg for SIIC sector.
May 1, 2005... Investors are gaining control of French listed companies as a step towards launching SIICS "It's like an iceberg - we're only seeing one third of it," says Alec Emmott, managing director of French property company Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise...

SCPI sequel gets ready to roll.
May 1, 2005... The French government hopes that new investment vehicle the OPCI will improve on the existing SCPI instrument by giving investors a more flexible route into indirect property While the French property sector is still counting its blessings...

Paris places street life at the heart of city planning.
May 1, 2005... New 20-year plan aims to protect vibrant mix of leisure, retail, business and housing uses The 2001 election of new Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe also marked the start of a new era for planning, sparking a review of the development plan that had...

Spotlight turns to secondary cities.
May 1, 2005... Investors such as Rockspring and LaSalle are starting to target all types of high-yielding assets in France's regions Investors in France are starting to discover that there is life outside the capital. Rockspring Property Investment Managers...

France tightens tax regime.
May 1, 2005... Foreign companies with assets in France now have to contend with stringent capital gains measures to curb tax avoidance, which include scrutiny of the use of fiscally neutral entities As a property lawyer, it will not surprise readers to learn...

Bank lettings swell take-up in main European centres.
May 1, 2005... Banks take 11% of all space across main European cities The banking sector has led a resurgence in take-up across 16 large European cities in 2004, accounting for 11% of total space taken, according to Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker....

'Motorways of the sea' will link up EU.
May 1, 2005... France to benefit from EU's water-based freight policy France's logistics sector, especially the cities of Le Havre and Marseille, will be the biggest beneficiaries of a new EU initiative to move freight off the roads and onto water-based...

IPD points to Netherlands recovery.
May 1, 2005... Netherlands property recovers as investor confidence returns Last year the Netherlands' property market improved markedly, according to new data from IPD. While all property returns were still well below the peak of 16% in 2000, they rose to...

Key data: The listed sector.
May 1, 2005... Europe, especially the UK, experiences a downturn Guernsey-domiciled trusts join the global real estate index In March the EPRA Index lost 2%, undoing some of the gains so far this year. But EPRA Sweden performed well, rising 6.4%. EPRA...

INSEAD puts real estate on MBA course.
May 1, 2005... Business school INSEAD has joined with Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker (CWHB) to offer an elective real estate course as part of its MBA curriculum. The corporate real estate course will be chaired by Professor John Glascock, the Grosvenor...

Asia No 1 fund closes at $243m.
May 1, 2005... The Asia No 1 Property Fund, jointly managed by Henderson Global Investors and Keppel Land subsidiary Alpha Investment Partners, has closed. The $243m Asia No.1 Property Fund is a pan-Asia direct property fund targeting assets with high income...

Immofinanz share issue sets property position in stone.
May 1, 2005... Austrian group seeks to translate local dominance into larger European context Austria's Immofinanz has issued [euro]580m of new shares to cement its international position in the property market. The real estate company will issue 83.9 million...

Investor consortium finds mixed-use blessing in Helsinki.
May 1, 2005... A consortium of three international investors has bought a mixed-used portfolio in greater Helsinki for [euro]85m. Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments, O'Connor Capital Partners and Genesta Property Nordic bought a 100,000m2 property...

Cofinimmo confirms North Galaxy takeup.
May 1, 2005... Cofinimmo, the Belgian listed property company, has exercised its option to acquire the whole of North Galaxy, a 119,000m[sup.2] office development in Brussels. Last February, the company paid around [euro]400m for the asset, in Brussels'...

AXA REIM.
May 1, 2005... Far East expansion is the next step for one of Europe's largest property managers, which also aims to tap demand from small private investors With [euro]22.5bn under management, AXA Real Estate Investment Management (AXA REIM) ranks as Europe's...

Key data: Non-listed sector.
May 1, 2005... Aareal launches German residential fund The making of a property giant Metrovacesa gained 30% of Gecina after buying stakes from insurers AGF and Azur-GMF for [euro]89.75 per share, to a total of around [euro]1.64bn. The remaining...