Friday, 18 May 2012

Fortress's Eurocastle NOI dips, closes €1bn Mars Fixed sale

Fortress Investment's Dutch-registered commercial real estate unit Eurocastle, which manages a €2.2bn German portfolio, fared in first quarter little better than the group's German housing affiliate Gagfah. Eurocastle's net operating income yield slid to an annualised 5.4% from 6.2%, but it completed the Mars Fixed portfolio sale.

French home sales may be hit by rent controls

French existing home sales could drop below 700,000 this year if interest rates rise and the new government's proposed rent controls deter investors, says the national notaries association. New President François Hollande is planning to cap housing rents when properties are re-let.

Spain’s Colonial returns to red but operations steady - CEO

Barcelona's listed group Colonial slid into the red again in first quarter, posting €13m net losses against €10m profit in 1Q11. But CEO Pere Vinolas told PIE operations are holding up well, as is the French affiliate Société Fonciere Lyonnaise. Only Colonial's Asentia 'bad bank' is dragging down earnings.

No signs of German housing bubble - Pfandbrief banks

There are no signs at present that German residential property price developments have decoupled from fundamental economic data, and despite recent price rises therefore no indications of a bubble, says the Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp).

Europa Capital, Spain’s Graells start €200m Romanian park

London-based pan-European real estate fund manager Europa Capital has begun construction of a 545,781 sq.m. industrial and logistics park in Turda, Romania, in a joint venture with Spanish developer Graells & Llonch. Total investment will be around €200m.

Paris 1Q office build rises 13%, 2013/4 seen strong

Paris region office space under construction increased 13% in first quarter to reach 1.5m sq.m., with projects in the La Défense business district in particular set to boost new supply in 2013 and 2014, says Jones Lang LaSalle.

Russia's Mirland in $18.8m net loss; EBITDA surges

London’s AIM-listed Russian developer MirLand reported a first quarter net loss of $18.8m, wider than the $3.5m in 1Q11 and reflecting rouble appreciation against the dollar. It said however that EBITDA surged 144% to $2.2m.

Deutsche’s RREEF on top as Guggenheim refocuses on it

German open-ended property funds run by Deutsche Bank asset management unit RREEF were among the best performers last year, says rating agency Scope. The news came after the bank announced that talks with US group Guggenheim Partners now focus solely on acquiring RREEF.

Bilgili's BLG in funding for Istanbul opportunities

BLG Capital, a Jersey-registered real estate fund manager, is raising capital to invest in Turkish opportunities and aims to close in summer with equity of €100m to €200m, mainly targeting Istanbul. The fund will be run by Turkish entrepreneur Serdar Bilgili, his two sisters and business partner Frank Roccogrande.

Swiss house prices near to entering bubble - UBS

Residential prices in Switzerland are showing growing signs of entering a bubble on a number of different measures, says the nation's largest bank UBS. In first quarter, household mortgage debt continued to swell relative to disposable income and is nearing a record.

For more Property Investor Europe news, click thru to our News archive.