* AccorHotels is selling a majority stake in its property arm AccorInvest for €4.4 billion in cash. The 55% stake is being sold to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd., Colony NorthStar Inc., French asset manager Amundi SA, Crédit Agricole Assurances SA and other investors.
Additionally, AccorHotels launched a two-year buyback program of up to roughly €1.35 billion.
* Canada-based Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. reduced its shareholding in Gecina to 15.4% by selling 4.28% of its equity through a placement with several investors using an accelerated bookbuilding process. The company divested 3.23 million shares for €473 million, according to Reuters.
UK and Ireland
* Great Portland Estates Plc is looking to raise capital through the issue and redemption of class B shares, along with a 16-for-19 share consolidation after deciding to return approximately £306.0 million to shareholders from the sale of two London properties. Both the schemes are subject to approval of shareholders at a general meeting on March 26.
* Triple Point Social Housing REIT Plc board plans to issue C shares to raise up to £200 million to finance potential investment opportunities.
The residential real estate investment trust is also in talks to sign a bilateral-term debt facility in April to raise more funds for future investments.
* Vanguard Real Estate bought a 0.79-acre site in Glasgow, Scotland, in a joint venture with Gulf Resources Development & Investment and property professional Jim Kelly, for the construction of the city's largest single-building new office space, Property Week reported.
The 280,000-square-foot development would accommodate up to 4,000 people once completed.
* Developer Crest Nicholson and Waverley Borough Council are set to begin the £115 million Brightwells renovation of the Farnham town center in the U.K. in the summer of 2018, Construction Enquirer reported. The development will include a £40 million retail and leisure hub, and 239 apartments, the report added.
* Places for People is drawing up plans for the launch of its first build-to-rent fund through PfP Capital, with a target on purpose-built, institutional-grade schemes of over 300 units, PW reported. The new fund will be seeded with a portfolio of assets including retirement housing and private rented sector properties.
* According to BuyAssociation's first annual survey of investors, 30.4% of respondents chose Brexit as their greatest concern for 2018 and 13.79% chose the declining house prices in the U.K., as a result of Brexit, as the next top concern.
* Meanwhile, undeterred by Brexit concerns, Norway's sovereign wealth fund has committed to invest in the London real estate market, which is being vacated by financial institutions following the country's exit from the EU, Bloomberg News reported.
Germany
* Internos Global Investors bought a 24,300-square-meter retail warehouse facility in Herzogenrath for the SCPI NOVAPIERE Allemagne Fund managed by PAREF Gestion. The asset produces approximately €1.9 million in annual rental income.
* CORESTATE Capital Holding SA acquired 257 new apartments across two projects in Berlin and Dresden on behalf of its Special AIF CORESTATE Residential Germany Fund II, in a deal in the about "two-digit million euro range." The projects are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and in mid-2020, respectively. The fund has a target investment volume of at least €300 million.
France
* Nexity closed an offering of convertible bonds through a private placement for a nominal amount of roughly €200 million. The nominal value of the bonds was set at €68.91 apiece, reflecting an issue premium of 30% over the company's Feb. 27 reference share price on the Euronext regulated market in Paris.
Spain
* Colliers International Group Inc. has increased its presence in the Spanish real estate and hotel market by acquiring a controlling stake in financial and strategic advisory firm IREA Corporate Finance SL for an undisclosed price.
Czech Republic
* Tristan Capital Partners-advised Curzon Capital Partners III fund sold an asset in the Praha City Center area in Prague to Amundi Asset Management for €64 million. The building encompasses 15,447 square meters of office space and 2,191 square meters of retail area on the ground floor, according to a release.
Eastern countries
* Hyprop Investments Ltd.'s Hystead Ltd. joint venture obtained a €164 million loan facility to refinance an existing loan and for the refurbishment of three shopping centers in Macedonia and Montenegro. The sum comprises a €104 million loan provided by the International Finance Corp. and €60 million from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Other real estate news
* U.S.-based CA Ventures will pour US$500 million into the European housing sector over the next five years, targeting student accommodation and multifamily apartment markets.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Real Estate Rundown: With Trump infrastructure plan, a new focus on value-capture financing
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.
Anusha Iyer contributed to this report.
