* Israel's banking regulator approved real estate company Azrieli Group and Bank Leumi le-Israel BM's sale of credit card issuer Leumi Card Ltd. to U.S.-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus for 2.5 billion shekels.
The regulator will request the Bank of Israel governor to issue a license to Warburg Pincus for the purchase.
* German asset manager KanAm Grund Group closed three property acquisitions in Germany and Ireland in the last two weeks, Property Magazine International reported. The company bought two mixed-use office properties in Munich on behalf of its Fokus Süddeutschland real estate fund.
KanAm Grund also wrapped up the €106 million purchase of the Dublin Landings 2 building in Dublin on behalf of South Korea's Hana Financial Investment Co. Ltd. and JR AMC Co. Ltd., according to the report.
UK
* Hammerson PLC has so far repurchased a total of £129 million, or 43%, of its 12-month share buyback program of up to £300 million, which will run until July. The company planned to return disposal proceeds to shareholders through the program.
* The Wall Street Journal featured a report on the effects of Brexit-related uncertainties on the London property market, where prices were rising before the June 2016 referendum. Home prices in the capital are now conversely declining as Britain's exit from the European Union approaches in the spring, creating ambiguity for the future of the real estate market.
* WSJ also reported that Chinese investors are expected to halt their investments in global property markets due to pressures from rising interest rates and restrictions from the Chinese government on capital outflow. In London, the void left by Chinese investors is anticipated to be filled by suitors from South Korea and Singapore instead, the report added, citing Real Capital Analytics.
Poland
* Multinational telecommunications company Nokia extended its lease in Poland, where it has occupied 14,000 square meters at Globalworth Poland RE's West Gate office building in Wrocław since 2014, Property Magazine International reported. The deal was understood to be the largest lease agreement in Wrocław's office sector in 2018, the report added, citing Nokia's adviser, Colliers International.
* Japanese technological company HiKOKI also lengthened its lease for warehouse and office space at the Ursus Logistics Center in Poland, Property Magazine International reported. Over 2,300 square meters of space inside the 11,500-square-meter asset is leased to HiKOKI, the publication added.
Spain
* The development of unfinished town projects in Spain is being revived once again as the country's real estate market continues to recover more than a decade after the 2008 global financial crisis, The (Singapore) Business Times reported. The abandoned developments, dubbed ghost towns, such as Valdeluz, are now receiving residents after banks began to divest the apartments they reclaimed from bankrupt developers, the publication added.
Greece
* A 9,000-square-meter land plot in the Greek island of Lemnos is being offered for sale for €180,000, with the owner also accepting payment in the form of cryptocurrencies, Crypto Globe reported. The site, which was listed on the Bitcoin Real Estate online platform, has permission in place for a residential project or other developments, the report added.
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