* South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corp. emerged as the top bidder for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s new 840,000-square-foot London headquarters, offering roughly £1.2 billion for the asset. The purchase, if completed, would eclipse CK Asset Holdings Ltd.'s £1 billion acquisition of the UBS Group AG headquarters in the city from British Land Co. PLC and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
* Logistics-focused Tritax EuroBox raised gross proceeds of £300 million in an oversubscribed IPO in London. The company will issue 300 million ordinary shares at £1.00 apiece, or at a euro equivalent issue price of €1.1311 per share.
Net proceeds from the IPO will be channeled toward acquiring logistics real estate assets across Continental Europe.
UK and Ireland
* Landsec plans to purchase six series of notes, issued by Land Securities Capital Markets PLC, through a program running between July 4 and July 31.
* Credit Suisse is believed to be leading the race to acquire the New Century House office property leased to the Bank of Ireland in Dublin, with an approximately €66 million bid, The Irish Times reported. Hibernia REIT PLC bought the 7,432-square-meter grade A building four years ago for €47 million.
* Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. obtained consent from the Southward Council to deliver nearly 1,000 homes in London's Elephant and Castle district, Bloomberg News reported. The Qatari sovereign wealth fund's plans include the transformation of a shopping mall into apartment buildings under the Get Living brand, in a joint venture with Delancey and Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management NV, the news agency reported.
* A partnership between Goldman Sachs and Greycoat purchased the Procession House office asset in London from LGIM Real Assets for a price tag understood to be about £70 million, Property Week reported. The 105,994-square-foot office block was placed on the market in February and was marketed by Savills at a guide price £67.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.15%.
* A multimillion euro mixed-use development of nearly 60,000 square meters of space is being planned on the former Smithwicks Brewery site in Kilkenny City, Ireland, the Irish Independent reported. The project, dubbed Abbey Quarter, will provide roughly 4,450 square meters of prime office space, as well as retail, housing educational and civic areas.
Germany and Switzerland
* DIC Asset AG established the DIC Office Balance V open-ended special alternative investment fund, with a target investment volume of €350 million to €400 million. The fund aims to invest in commercial real estate in German metro regions.
* Invesco Real Estate GmbH spent €157 million on the purchase of the Leonardo Royal Munich City Olympiapark hotel in Germany from Israel-listed Fattal Hotels in a sale-leaseback deal. The 424-room hotel will be leased back to Fattal for a 30-year term.
* UBM Development AG divested two planned residential buildings within a six-building Berlin project to an undisclosed institutional investor for €48.8 million. The properties sold comprise 132 apartments and 56 parking spaces.
* Swiss Prime Site AG's real estate portfolio value is set to rise by more than CHF220 million after acquiring two properties in Zurich.
France
* Following an initial testing stage, AccorHotels is finally rolling out the commercialization phase of its Flying Nest flexible accommodation concept in France. The concept involves the conversion of marine containers into guestrooms in a partnership with French startup Capsa.
* Gecina and specialist services provider Wemind have teamed up to provide rental accommodation to entrepreneurs and freelancers in Paris. Gecina will contribute its 6,400-apartment portfolio in the French capital to the joint venture.
Sweden and Norway
* Castellum AB intends to launch a new co-working concept with a digital platform in the fall. The concept will be introduced in Stockholm and Gothenburg, Sweden, in the most initial phase.
* Seasonally adjusted house prices in Norway increased 1.5% year over year in June, but remained steady from May as growth in supply and a potential rate hike in September is expected to cool the market in the coming months, Reuters reported, citing Real Estate Norway. Values are estimated to decrease 1.0% year over year in December, the report added.
Spain
* French asset manager Primonial REIM bought the Alcobendas campus of Universidad Europea de Madrid in the Spanish capital for its SCPI Primovie and OPCI PREIMium funds. The 14,868-square-meter building is entirely let to the university under a long-term lease with no early break clause, according to a release.
Other real estate news
* Private equity firm Partners Group Holding AG paid a total of €320 million to purchase four office properties in Belgium and Germany for its clients since the start of 2018. The company has also acquired two European real estate portfolios, spanning a total of 160,000 square meters of space, in the year to date.
* The European hotel sector is moving toward incorporating more environmental efficiency and sustainability strategies to strengthen brands and boost portfolio returns, Property Investor Europe reported, citing interviews with various market players.
Hans-Peter Hermann, Invesco Real Estate senior director for asset management hotels, in particular, was quoted as saying that sustainability has been integrated into the firm's investment process.
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Celestyn Wong contributed to this report.