Property Investor News

Saturday 05. February 2011
Berlin housing firm GSW closes key pre-IPO refinancing

Berlin-based housing firm GSW has agreed E875m in loan agreements with six leading banks averaging over eight-year...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Spain's Iberdrola pumps E400m into RE subsidiary

Bilbao-based energy and communications giant Iberdrola has injected E400m into its real estate arm Iberdrola...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Emerging world cities lead rental growth - report

The residential sectors of leading cities in the emerging world significantly outperformed the more established prime...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Sweden's Niam in first Nordic, Baltic fund close

Swedish real estate private equity firm Niam has made a first closing of its fifth opportunistic fund Niam Nordic V...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Sweden's Fabege quadruples net, looks to expand

Swedish listed commmercial property firm Fabege saw net 2010 quadruple to SEK1.7bn (E193m) and will propose a SEK3...

Saturday 05. February 2011
AEW Europe targets E3bn transactions in 2011

AEW Europe, the property investment unit of the French Natixis financial group, expects to execute close to E3bn of...

Saturday 05. February 2011
German IVG sees Warsaw, Nordics, Spain opportunities

European real estate deal volume this year should rise to some E125bn, with northern nations displaying a faster...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Orco in E119m Berlin sale to High Gain House

Struggling listed CEE developer and investor Orco has closed the sale of its mixed-use project on Berlin's Leipziger...

Saturday 05. February 2011
Bulgaria new shopping mall activity set to continue

Five more shopping malls will open in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia in the next two to three years, according to...

Monday 31. January 2011
PIE FLASH: ProLogis, AMB merge to form global logistics leader

After deadline for PIE 196, US REITs ProLogis and AMB Corporation, specialists in warehouse and logistics development...

Monday 31. January 2011
Global private equity RE reviving but still low

Global private equity real estate funds became more active in fourth quarter but the branch remained far below...

Monday 31. January 2011
Germany needs properly functioning listed sector - EPRA

New regulations for German open-end property funds, likely to be passed into law in spring, highlight their liquidity...

Monday 31. January 2011
Spanish RE shares rally amid reforms, speculation

With reforms to Spain's financial sector afoot, and many savings banks - cajas - major shareholders of Spanish real...

Monday 31. January 2011
French REIT Terreïs in E96m rights to expand float

French REIT/SIIC Terreïs has launched a E96.3m capital increase to support expansion plans and ensure it retains SIIC...

Monday 31. January 2011
German savings banks press for WestImmo extension

German savings banks have lodged a complaint at the European Court of Justice against the European Union for an...

Monday 31. January 2011
French Gecina diversifies funding with E500m EMTN

French REIT/SIIC Gecina has carried out a new E500m bond issue, a Euro Medium Term Note with maturity of five years,...

Monday 31. January 2011
Modest office rental growth continues - JLL clock

As the economic recovery across Europe continued in fourth quarter at the same pace as in 3Q10, office rental growth...

Monday 31. January 2011
Denmark's BPT launches E200m Baltic core fund

Copenhagen-based BPT Asset Management has launched an unlisted Estonian real estate investment fund BPT Baltic...

Monday 31. January 2011
Czech industrial vacancies to fall further - C&W

Czech industrial property is gradually reviving. Cushman & Wakefield predicts vacancy rates should shrink further in...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Global 2010 RE deals surge 44% to $582bn - RCA

Global property transactions surged 44% to $582bn in 2010, with deals worth $10m or more up 40% at 16,900 according to...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Wave of European bank property NPLs coming - Lohnbach

European banks' suspension of disbelief in non-performing commercial real estate loans is nearing an end and many...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Solvency II to hit property funds harder than listed - EPRA seminar

Listed real estate companies should issue bonds to raise debt financing if Solvency II creates problems for insurance...

Sunday 30. January 2011
French govt, region agree Grand Paris transport network

The French government and Paris Ile-de-France have agreed new transport networks as part of the Grand Paris urban...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Oaktree sells remaining 11% in Deutsche Wohnen

Private equity group Oaktree Capital has sold its remaining 11.35% equity stake in Berlin listed residential firm...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Colonial optimistic of investors' return to Spain

Despite the bleak outlook for Spanish real estate, the CEO of struggling listed group Colonial is optimistic that a...

Sunday 30. January 2011
French RE firms hit by new tax on interest charges

French real estate firms could face higher tax charges on their 2010 accounts as a result of a change in rules on the...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Barcelona office space to be scarce in 2012 - JLL

The current over-supply of office space in Barcelona will give way over the next two years to a scarcity, due to the...

Sunday 30. January 2011
UBS wins Unilever for E75m Euro Core real estate fund

UBS Global Asset Management says interest in European real estate vehicles is reviving, and this has supported an...

Sunday 30. January 2011
Hungarian property market to recover slowly - Colliers

Confidence in the Hungarian investment market is slowly returning, with investor interest seen in prime property where...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Sovereign funds to expand fastest in European property

The year 2011 should be a good year for real estate across Europe, and sovereign wealth funds, from Asia and elsewhere,...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
French REIT/SIICs to let exit tax lapse at end-2011

The French Real Estate Investment Trust community will not attempt to extend the so-called exit tax after expiry at the...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
New Berlin OEPF proposals are acceptable - Knoflach

Latest German government legislative proposals for open-end property funds are, after the third revision, acceptable to...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Istanbul office occupancy seen rising in 2011

Lettings in the Istanbul office market slowed in fourth quarter although vacancy rates continued to fall overall...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Sweden's Castellum posts 2010 climb in net result

Castellum, one of Sweden's largest listed commercial real estate firms, reported increased 2010 rental and leasing...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Orascom says Andermatt Swiss Alps sales on track

Orascom Development says its Andermatt Swiss Alps project is developing within marketing plan. From April to end-2010,...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Germany, France, Nordics preferred by funds - INREV

Germany, France and the Nordic markets have overtaken UK as preferred locations for real estate fund investment, says...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Swiss Prime Site buys E177m Zurich SkyKey

Listed real estate firm Swiss Prime Site has bought Zurich commercial development SkyKey for E177m from Zurich-based...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
Cyprus property to stabilise later in 2010 - RICS

The property market in Cyprus is expected to stabilise this year but not until the second half, the Royal Institution...

Wednesday 26. January 2011
German Deka targets smaller acquisitions in 2011

Open-ended property funds will become purely private investor products in the future, with institutional investors...

Monday 24. January 2011
Berlin changes property fund law draft again

The German government has again changed proposed legislation on open-end property funds. The Handelsblatt newspaper...

Monday 24. January 2011
Global direct RE investment surges 50% to $316bn - JLL

Global direct real estate investment rose more than 50% last year to $316bn, a significant recovery in activity across...

Monday 24. January 2011
Dutch ING REIM to be broken up, TPG said bidding

ING Real Estate Investment Management, the largest property investment manager in Europe with some E65bn AUM, now looks...

Monday 24. January 2011
Orascom's Andermatt project said trailing sales target

Egyptian-Swiss Orascom Development is trailing behind target on its E200m Andermatt, Switzerland, resort community. A...

Monday 24. January 2011
Spanish government offers conditional support to real estate

The Spanish government has pledged to continue to support the nation's beleaguered real estate sector in a "gradual...

Monday 24. January 2011
Aberdeen's Degi Europa OEF pays out 20% amid liquidation

The German property fund unit of British group Aberdeen Asset Management is to pay out E254m to some 90,000 investors...

Monday 24. January 2011
German Union Investment buys E220m Rheinpark Center

Hamburg-based property fund manager Union Investment, part of the German cooperative banking system, has bought the...

Monday 24. January 2011
Deka pays E105m for Berlin's Friedrich Carré assets

German savings banks' fund manager Deka has bought four of the seven buildings of Berlin's Friedrich Carré for E105m...

Monday 24. January 2011
Redevco restructures Germany, divesting office, logistics

Amsterdam-based Redevco, one of the largest retail property owners in Europe, is rolling out an expansion strategy in...

Monday 24. January 2011
Tishman, Commerz restart Frankfurt's Taunus Tower

International developer Tishman Speyer and Commerzbank funds unit Commerz Real are starting construction this month on...

Saturday 22. January 2011
European RE investment to rise, Asians coming - DTZ

European commercial real estate investment volume should rise by 28% in 2011 to E123bn, just below the 10-year average...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Spanish government proposes international real estate roadshow

In meetings this week with the nation's beleaguered real estate sector, the Spanish government has pledged to continue...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Germany's TAG closes Colonia bid at 38%, will try to raise

Hamburg-based property group TAG has closed its voluntary takeover bid for listed peer Colonia Real Estate, holding...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Dutch ING REIM to be sold in parts

ING Real Estate Investment Management, the largest property investment manager in Europe, now looks likely to be sold...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Sal Oppenheim Swiss RE business in MBO, renamed 4IP

The Swiss real estate investment business of German bank Sal Oppenheim, mostly acquired by Deutsche Bank last year when...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Metrovacesa buy broke Sacresa's back - Spain report

Sacresa real estate group, in receivership since June after failing to agree with its 15 creditor banks, buckled as a...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Brussels yields offer investment opportunity - Savills

The widening spread between short- and long-term Brussels office yields offers a significant opportunity for investors,...

Saturday 22. January 2011
Israel's Kardan sells stake in Poland's GTC to raise E195m

Israeli-owned financial group Kardan, based in the Netherlands, has sold 35.1m shares of Warsaw-based listed mall...

Saturday 22. January 2011
German Patrizia's sales double, sees operating profit

Augsburg-based listed property group Patrizia last year sold 1,803 residential units in individual and block sales, up...

Saturday 22. January 2011
German IVG starts debt reduction, to finalise Squaire financing

Germany's largest listed commercial property company IVG at end-2010 started a debt reduction program by redeeming...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Spain sets commission to revitalise property sector

The Spanish government has begun a series of meetings with real estate firms and banks and will create a commission...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
RE funds favour Germany, France, Nordics over UK

Germany, France and Nordic markets have overtaken UK as preferred locations for real estate fund investment, says fund...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Germany's DIC to resume acquisitions, development projects

German listed commercial property group DIC Asset will resume acquisitions this year after a hiatus of more than two...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Italian banks to inject further E150m equity into Risanamento

Italian banks are to inject another E150m into struggling Milan-based listed group Risanamento in a capital increase...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
French REIT Mercialys sells E120m assets, buys in Grenoble

French retail REIT/SIIC Mercialys, a unit of the Casino supermarket group, sold E120m of mature assets in the fourth...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
French govt mulls widening capital gains to primary homes

France is studying the possibility of widening a capital gains tax on homes to primary residences from currently just...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Sustained upswing in Austrian resy, stable office - EHL

Prices for Austrian residential property rose faster than rents in 2010, a trend set to continue this year, while...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Rivero to face insider trading charges in Madrid court

Joaquín Rivero, former head of Spain's Metrovacesa and of French SIIC Gecina, is to appear in court in Madrid on 2...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Large boost in German RE investment in 2010 - CBRE

Following rapid economic recovery and sustained investor confidence in the German market, commercial real estate...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
W. P. Carey boosts investments with Croatia's Agrokor to E126m

NYSE-listed REIT W.P. Carey has acquired a portfolio of retail facilities in Croatia through its publicly-held,...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Ulbrich switches JLL Europe model to Target 2014

Jones Lang LaSalle is changing its business model in Europe, widening its service offering, specifically into corporate...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Allianz's E184m Paris buy brings France to E900m

Allianz Real Estate prior to year end finalised the acquisition from Crédit Suisse of two prime properties in Paris for...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
RREEF Germany hits E1.8bn in acquisitions in 2010

RREEF, the real estate investment management business of Deutsche Bank, in 2010 acquired properties worldwide totalling...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
French FPF nearer E1bn goal with E160m Paris portfolio

French REIT/SIIC Foncière Paris France has acquired a E160m portfolio of Paris buildings as part of its purchase of the...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Spanish retail offers overseas investor window - Internos

Spain's real estate market could become a hotbed for foreign investment, above all in shopping centre developments...

Wednesday 19. January 2011
Solvency II impact on German property seen devastating

German Solvency II legislation as currently proposed will have a devastating impact on real estate markets, cutting...

Friday 14. January 2011
UK, France likely next in Norway fund E20bn RE target

Norway's massive pension fund is likely to target property investments in UK or France next in its E20bn allocation...

Friday 14. January 2011
More Colonia stock likely by bid close - TAG's Elgeti

More shareholders in Cologne listed group Colonia Real Estate are expected to tender their stock into the takeover bid...

Friday 14. January 2011
Gazit scotches Citycon merger reports with Kokkeel appointment

Finnish shopping centre group Citycon, controlled by Israel's Gazit-Globe, has appointed Marcel Kokkeel, MD of...

Friday 14. January 2011
CA Immo sees sharp earnings rise after Europolis buy

Austrian listed property group CA Immo, following its purchase of asset manager Europolis, is to focus on portfolio...

Friday 14. January 2011
French 2010 RE investment up 40%, set to rise more - BNPP

French commercial real estate investment last year rose 40% to E11.9bn in what could prove a turning point for the...

Friday 14. January 2011
Zug's Corestate buys Hanover office/retail at 8%

Zug-based private equity real estate investor Corestate has acquired from HSBC Trinkaus Real Estate the Rund Carré in...

Friday 14. January 2011
Russia, Poland activity doubles in CEE to E5bn - CBRE

Property investment in CEE rebounded by 90% in 2010 to E5bn, driven by Russia and Poland with 74% of total, as recovery...

Friday 14. January 2011
Goodman in E300m industrial project in Poland's Gdansk

Australian logistics specialist Goodman is starting a 500,000 sq.m. project at Gdansk, Poland - the Pomeranian...

Monday 10. January 2011
Your `PIE New Year' starts here. Welcome back!

Property Investor Europe welcomes you, our readers, back to a New Year 2011 that promises to be exciting both for...

Monday 10. January 2011
Atrium-Citycon merger closer on Gazit moves

A merger of Amsterdam-based Atrium European Real Estate and Finland's Citycon, listed retail property firms controlled...

Monday 10. January 2011
Luxembourg's Aerium sells Pegase E210m French assets

European fund management group Aerium, based in Luxembourg, has sold office, logistics and retail property worth E210m...

Monday 10. January 2011
Moor Park sells Spain bank branches to Ortega holding

One of Spain's largest real estate holdings, Pontagadea, controlled by Inditex head Amancio Ortega, has acquired five...

Monday 10. January 2011
Frankfurt Opera Tower probably sold for E600m - sources

Frankfurt's Opera Tower, one of Germany's trophy assets which leased up quite fast in late 2010, probably sold at a...

Monday 10. January 2011
Axa RE raises E350m for European debt fund

Axa Real Estate, the property investment arm of France's largest insurer, has raised E350m

for its Commercial Real...

Monday 10. January 2011
Cornerstone launches Nordic E500m infrastructure fund

UK-based Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers Europe, an indirect unit of the US-based Mass Mutual insurance group, has...

Monday 10. January 2011
Dutch govt seals biggest 2010 single-asset deal at E220m

Dutch state firm, the Netherlands' Government Buildings Agency, in December purchased the Wilhelminahof offices and...

Monday 10. January 2011
Canadian CD Capital, Benevo start E150m Bucharest mall

Canadian investor CD Capital Partners has started a mall development in Bucharest, Romania. Victoria City Center will...

Monday 10. January 2011
French Ciloger pays E218m for German retail

French fund manager Ciloger has acquired 10 newly-built retail assets in Germany for E218m for one of its institutional...

Friday 17. December 2010
Happy Festive Season to All PIE Readers! Break until 10 January 2011

The entire PIE team wishes all our readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a happy, healthy and prosperous...

Friday 17. December 2010
Europe faces two-speed property market - BNPP RE

European commercial real estate investment should continue to evolve as a two-speed market next year, says realtor BNP...

Friday 17. December 2010
Allianz buy two Paris commercial assets for E184m

Allianz Real Estate has finalised the acquisition from Swiss bank Crédit Suisse of two prime properties in the heart of...

Friday 17. December 2010
Atrium, Multi unwind Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria cross holdings

Dutch-based groups Atrium European Real Estate and Multi Corporation have unwound cross holdings in shopping centres as...

Friday 17. December 2010
La Défense approves D2, Majunga, Generali towers

La Défense management body EPADESA has approved the construction of three further towers in the Paris business district...

Friday 17. December 2010
Alternatives' fund managers want AIFM amendments - Preqin

Most fund managers of alternative assets significantly resent the European Union directive on Alternative Investment...

Friday 17. December 2010
French state property doubles in value to E67bn

The value of French state property has more than doubled to E67bn in 2010 from E30bn in 2005, says French...