* Klépierre reported total revenues of roughly €1.32 billion for full-year 2017, up 1.6% from the year-ago period. Net rental income for shopping centers increased 2.3% to approximately €1.08 billion from roughly €1.05 billion in 2016. Retail sales at Klépierre malls also saw gains of 2.1% on a like-for-like basis in 2017.
* Blackstone Group LP is on the verge of signing a €450 million deal to sell the Almada Forum mall near Lisbon to MERLIN Properties. The shopping mall offers 230 stores and a food court, and is one of the four shopping centers in Portugal that the private equity giant was seeking to divest in July 2017.
* Jeddah Economic Co. Ltd. is looking to open the world's tallest skyscraper in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by 2020, despite delays brought about by the detention of some project supporters after the country's recent crackdown on corruption. The US$1.5 billion Jeddah Tower, which is expected to rise to more than 1,000 meters in height, will feature residential and hotel space, as well as retail elements.
UK and Ireland
* According to a survey conducted by the Investment Property Forum, Institutional investors focused on the U.K. housing market are looking to spend a total of more than £8 billion in the sector over the next 12 months, IPE Real Assets reported. The survey additionally showed that 80% of the investors plan on increasing investments in 2018, up from 60% year over year.
* Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP closed the off-market sale of the 6 Queen St. property in Leeds, U.K., for £37.2 million to clients of Mayfair Capital Investment Management Ltd. The 70,940-square-foot office asset was disposed on behalf of its Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust.
Mayfair also bought the 81,470-square-foot headquarter building of British Gas in the Oxford Business Park in Oxford, U.K., from Charles Street Buildings Group for £35 million, PW reported.
The two assets will be injected into a new Swiss Life Asset Managers real estate fund, the report added.
* Shareholders are set to vote on Stenprop Ltd.'s proposal to convert into a U.K. real estate investment trust at a special general shareholder meeting scheduled for March 7. The company plans to list on the London Stock Exchange to become a leading U.K. multilet industrial business.
* HM Revenue and Customs agreed to pre-lease the 10-story Building 1 at the Atlantic Square development in Glasgow, Scotland, for at least a 20-year term, PW reported. Construction on the development, jointly carried out by BAM Properties, TCP Developments and LGIM Real Assets, is set to begin in March.
The £100 million project will bring 284,000 square feet of office space to the market, according to Construction Enquirer.
* Layden Group is planning to market a portfolio of 17 Bank of Ireland branches in Dublin, with a guiding price tag of €28.5 million, representing a blended net initial yield of 7.4%, The Irish Times reported. The portfolio generates a total rental income of €2.29 million, the publication added.
* NewRiver REIT CEO David Lockhart, who had taken a leave of absence in August 2017 due to health reasons, has decided to step down as CEO, effective May 1.
The company's board has appointed Allan Lockhart as the new CEO, also effective May 1. David Lockhart will be appointed executive deputy chairman.
Germany
* German lender pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank extended a €157 million facility to subsidiaries of Groß & Partner Group to fund the development of The Spin hotel and office project in Frankfurt. The 26,500-square-meter project will comprise 32 floors, with the top 10 floors dedicated to office space and the rest to be occupied by an NH Collection hotel.
* CBRE Global Investors sold the 10,000-square-meter K1 – Am Kaiserkai 1 mixed-use building in the HafenCity district of Hamburg to Triuva. The eight-story building is leased to 10 tenants.
France
* German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer is in talks to purchase the 114 Avenue des Champs-Elysees building in Paris, which was placed on the market for €700 million in late-2017. The building, which will house an Apple store following an expected opening in 2019, is being sold by an entity controlled by the family of French billionaire Christopher Descours.
Spain
* Bay Hotels & Leisure SOCIMI, S.A. may opt to merge with Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios as it evaluates alternative options to keep out of trading on the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil. Additionally, the Spanish real estate investment trust has put in place a sustained purchase order on the market, priced at €7.75 per share, targeting all its shareholders other than Hispania.
In December 2017, Hispania signed an agreement with Barceló Group to buy its 24% interest in Bay Hotels & Leisure for a total transaction cost of €172.4 million.
* ActivumSG Capital Management Ltd.'s fund acquired a portfolio of 19 gasoline filling stations in northern Spain from AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets-managed fund for an undisclosed purchase price. The stations are leased to hypermarket chains Eroski and Carrefour, according to a release.
Finland
* Entra ASA issued 500.0 million Norwegian kroner worth of new commercial paper, with a term running from Feb. 12 to Feb. 12, 2019, and an annual coupon of 1.18%.
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The Daily Dose Europe, Real Estate edition, is updated as of 6:30 a.m. London time. Some links require a subscription. Articles and links are correct as of publication time.
Celestyn Wong contributed to this report.
As of Jan. 7, US$1 was equivalent to 7.87 Norwegian kroner.
