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Vonovia FFO 1 rises 21% YOY in FY'17; Bouwfonds divests €4B of assets

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Vonovia FFO 1 rises 21% YOY in FY'17; Bouwfonds divests €4B of assets

* Vonovia SE's 2017 funds from operations 1 rose 21% year over year to €920.8 million from €760.8 million in the previous year. The company's FFO 1 per share came in at €1.90, up 16.6% from €1.63 in 2016.

In a separate release, the company said its CFO Stefan Kirsten will step down, with effect from the conclusion of the company's annual general meeting May 9. Helene von Roeder, who was appointed to the board Jan. 23, will replace Kirsten in mid-2018 following the CFO's departure.

* Rabo Real Estate Group's Bouwfonds Investment Management has sold real estate and infrastructure assets worth over €4 billion in its portfolio, as a part of its parent's plan to reduce its involvement in fund and asset management activities. Bouwfonds CFO Marnix Boessenkool noted that the portfolio has shrunk to €2.1 billion from more than €6.3 billion in 2015, following the deal.

UK and Ireland

* Helical PLC signed an agreement to sell The Magnus Portfolio comprising 20 logistics assets in the U.K. to Blackstone and M7 Real Estate-managed funds for £150 million. Net proceeds from the sale of the 2.27 million-square-foot portfolio will be used to reduce debt and for pay for yearly finance costs, according to a release.

* Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and Global Student Accommodation Group have partnered to purchase for €200 million four student housing properties in Dublin and Cork, Ireland, comprising a total of 1,325 beds.

* InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is close to the purchase of a luxury brand of hotels, which is estimated to produce more income than its Holiday Inn Express brand, according to a Reuters report, citing CEO Keith Barr.

* JLL launched NXT Office virtual reality technology to facilitate potential tenants' search for office space in London by sharing information, assisting selection and speeding up the decisionmaking process, Property Week reported. The technology is presented through nine interconnected screens at the company's offices in the British capital, the publication added.

* Barings Real Estate loaned a €184.8 million facility against Hotel Café Royal in London's West End, Europe Real Estate reported.

* ICG-Longbow and residential group SDL have formed a built-to-rent joint venture and plan to construct more than 2,000 new homes over the next three years, PW reported. To carry out its plan, the joint venture will acquire sites across the U.K., with an initial focus on the Midlands, the report added.

* Balliol College in Oxford, U.K., has signed an agreement with BAM Construction for the development of about 220 rooms across nine new student accommodation buildings under a £40 million project, Construction Enquirer reported.

* Bartra Capital Property Group is establishing a joint venture with CIE to develop up to 120,000 square feet of office space across a high-rise development on the 0.87-acre Boston Sidings site at Grand Canal Quay in the Dublin docklands, the Irish Independent reported.

Belgium and the Netherlands

* Eurocommercial Properties NV expanded its portfolio to €4 billion after completing the purchase of the Woluwe shopping center in Brussels. The company signed a binding deal in January to buy the retail property for a gross investment of about €468 million.

* South Korean investor Korea Investment Management Co. emerged as the buyer of Cofinimmo SA's two office buildings in the central business district of Brussels, Retail News Asia reported. Cofinimmo agreed to a €369.5 million private deal in February to sell a 99-year leasehold of the 36,616-square-meter Egmont I and the 16,262-square-meter Egmont II assets.

* Rezidor Hotel Group AB and Radisson Hospitality Inc. have jointly rebranded Radisson unit Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as Radisson Hotel Group, effective immediately. The restructured hotel unit will also rebrand or reposition upward of 500 hotels worldwide.

* TH Real Estate bought a 39,500-square-meter logistics asset comprising two buildings in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in a sale and leaseback deal with an undisclosed seller, Property Investor Europe reported. The asset is the property group's second Dutch deal for its European Logistics Fund.

Germany

* BNP Paribas REIM paid an unknown sum to acquire a new 7,700-square-meter office property close to Frankfurt for its German-focused SCPI Opus Real, PIE reported. The asset was purchased from developer OFB Projektentwicklung, the publication added.

* TLG IMMOBILIEN AG picked up the 25,400-square-meter Theo & Luise building in Mannheim for a total investment amount of €50.7 million. According to PIE, ActivumSG Capital Management was the seller of what was its final German office asset. ActivumSG received a net initial yield of 5.9% for the transaction, having divested the tower on behalf of ActivumSG Real Estate Fund II, the publication noted.

Denmark

* BankNordik signed a 140 million-Danish-kroner sale and leaseback deal with P/F Varðin for its head office building in Tórshavn, in Denmark's Faroe Islands. The bank will lease back the asset for 15 years, with a five-year extension option.

Poland

* Swedish construction group Skanska sold the over 22,600-square-meter Nowa Fabryczna office building in Lódz to private equity firm Niam for €52 million. The deal is set to be finalized in the third quarter of 2018, according to a release.

Middle East

* Moody's affirmed its ratings for Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co. and altered its ratings outlook on the company to positive from stable.

Other real estate news

* German fund manager Union Investment entered an approximately US$120 million deal to acquire a Thompson-branded lifestyle hotel development in Washington, D.C., from Gone Yard Hotel Owner. The 12,000-square-meter hotel will change hands upon its opening, which is expected in early 2020.

* Hyatt Hotels Corp. is opening two new hotels, respectively in London and Istanbul under The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand. The Great Scotland Yard Hotel in London and the Nish Palas in the Turkish capital, along with Hôtel Martinez in Cannes, France; the Párisi Udvar Hotel in Budapest; and the renovated Hôtel du Louvre in Paris are all expected to open under the brand by early 2019, according to a release.

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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 March 5, US$1 was equivalent to 6.03 Danish kroner.