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Airbnb in US$1B deal to buy European villa biz; FdR to shed assets for €287M

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Airbnb in US$1B deal to buy European villa biz; FdR to shed assets for €287M

* Silicon Valley giant Airbnb is in pole position to finalize a US$1 billion deal to buy a portfolio of property rental sites from Wyndham Worldwide Corp., The (U.K.) Times reported, adding that it would be the room-sharing website's biggest takeover deal so far.

American hotel company Wyndham is selling its European villa rentals division, which includes brands like Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays and cottages.com, as well as other brands letting homes in Greece, Croatia and Italy. Other bidders for the portfolio include Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners.

* Foncière des Régions agreed to sign sales deals worth €287 million for French retail assets, in line with its plan to divest nonstrategic properties. The company is selling for €264 million 81 commercial properties leased to Quick and is placing on the market for €23 million five properties let to Jardiland.

UK and Ireland

* GCP Student Living Plc acquired the approximately £29 million Podium student accommodation asset in Egham, U.K., using available resources. The 180-bed purpose-built facility, for which a forward-purchase agreement was signed in April 2016, is fully occupied and operational, as of the 2017-18 academic year.

* Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc.'s European subsidiary secured two financings totaling €284.0 million against seven assets primarily in Dublin from the Bank of Ireland. The properties include four offices, two shopping centers and a multifamily complex.

* Hermes Investment Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board signed up tenants for 80,000 square feet of office space at the recently renovated Aldgate House in London, Property Week reported. TransPerfect Translations agreed to take up 26,256 square feet of space on the first floor, Taboola Europe is picking up a 26,248-square-foot space on the second level, and construction company ISG will occupy 26,312 square feet on the seventh floor, on top of the space in the building it is already leasing.

* Abdul Shukur Khalisadar, a businessman linked to the British Labour Party, was found to have allegedly demanded a £2 million bribe from property developers who were seeking planning approval for the development of a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London, The Sunday Times reported.

The proposed development in the capital's Isle of Dogs district is slated to have an investment value of £500 million. The Tower Hamlets Council has passed information on the alleged corruption to the National Crime Agency.

Switzerland

* PSP Swiss Property AG paid CHF 190 million to buy a nine-asset portfolio consisting of 15,400 square meters of total letting area. The properties, acquired from Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse) SA, are in Geneva, Lugano, Lausanne and Fribourg.

* Swiss Prime Site AG signed a strategic partnership agreement to develop blockchain technology-based applications for real estate functions. The company and its group company Wincasa, along with Inacta, an IT consultancy firm, have already developed a new app under the partnership, which will be used for rental escrow deposit automation, making a lengthy process faster and more efficient.

Germany

* GEG German Estate Group purchased the 25,000-square-meter Triforum office and hotel complex in Cologne for a price upward of €100 million from a fund managed by Institutional Investment Partners, Property Investor Europe reported, citing a news release. Park Inn by Radisson leases the hotel under a long-term agreement, and the office portion is fully occupied, according to the report.

France

* La Française Real Estate Partners is buying a planned retirement complex in Lorient, Brittany, from Bouygues Immobilier and property investor and operator Acapace for an undisclosed price, PIE reported, citing a statement. The purchase is being made for the company's LF Résidences Seniors fund.

The 80-unit development is slated to be finished in the first quarter of 2020, the report noted.

Southern Europe

* The property market in Spain is set to witness investment volumes hitting €8.9 billion in 2017, up 5% year over year and marking a record volume since the global financial crisis, PropertyEU reported, citing Savills.

Overseas buyers accounted for 70% of investment activity in the southern European commercial real estate market, up from a just over 50% usual figure, on the back of positive economic growth, declining unemployment levels and a revival of consumer confidence, PIE reported, citing Alice Marwick, a Savills associate in European research.

Middle East

* InterContinental Hotels Group Plc opened its second Crowne Plaza hotel in Muscat, Oman. The Crowne Plaza Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre has 296 rooms and 22,000 square meters of exhibition space.

* The Bahrain Bourse CEO Shaikh Khalifa Al Khalifa told The National that the stock exchange is likely to see more real estate investment trusts listing in 2018, along with two IPOs in the works.

Brazil

* Gazit-Globe Ltd.-unit Gazit Brasil divested the Extra Itaim property in São Paulo for 350 million Brazilian reais, raking in cash gains of 140 million reais. The property was sold at a premium of 108 million reais above the company's fair value as at Sept. 30.

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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 Dec. 8, US$1 was equivalent to 3.31 Brazilian reais.