* AccorHotels divested 57.8% of the capital of AccorInvest SAS for €4.6 billion to buyers including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd., diversified real estate investment trust Colony NorthStar Inc., bank insurer Crédit Agricole Assurances SA, French asset manager Amundi SA, and other private investors.
The French hotelier will now own 42.2% of AccorInvest's capital.
* Swedish property company Kungsleden AB expanded its medium-term note program for bond issuances to 8 billion kronor from 5 billion kronor in order to take advantage of firm demand from credit investors.
UK and Ireland
* Amazon.com Inc. is looking for sites in the U.K.'s West Midlands and North East areas that can hold multistory fulfillment centers of up to four stories and 2.2 million square feet, Property Week reported.
The online retail giant already has two other U.K. operational multistory developments at the London Distribution Park in Essex and Central Park in Bristol.
* Westfield Corp. and Hammerson PLC's The Croydon Partnership signed a John Lewis department store and Waitrose supermarket to jointly anchor the new £1.4 billion redevelopment of the Croydon retail town center in London. The Waitrose supermarket will be incorporated into the 165,000-square-foot John Lewis store on the ground floor.
* Workspace Group PLC is looking to sell three office buildings in north London for a total price of £45 million. The flexible office space provider is placing on the market the Acute portfolio, comprising The Ivories Business Centre in Islington, Spectrum House in Kentish Town and Belgravia Workshop in Belgravia.
* KCR Residential REIT PLC and Inland Homes PLC are joining forces to form a strategic partnership with a focus on the South and South East areas of the U.K. The joint venture has identified an over £100 million pipeline from Inland's portfolio.
* Chelsea Football Club decided to put on ice its plans for a new £500 million stadium project in Fulham, U.K., Construction Enquirer reported.
* Meyer Bergman has mandated mixed-use developer Queensberry to develop its £300 million Borough Yards project in London, PW reported. The retail, leisure and office development will offer as many as 50 retail and leisure units within railway arches, the former Vinopolis building and a new 62,010-square-foot office building.
* Benson Elliott sold the 152,467-square-foot Slough Retail Park in Berkshire, U.K., for £63 million to Orchard Street Investment Management, PW reported. Orchard Street bought the eight-retail-warehouse asset on behalf of St. James's Place UK.
* According to Nationwide, house prices in the U.K. dipped 0.2% month over month in May, The (U.K.) Times reported. In the three months to May, prices declined 0.2% compared to the preceding quarter.
* The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council gave the go-ahead to U.S. real estate company Hines to proceed with the development of a €1 billion mixed-use complex at Cherrywood in south county Dublin, the Irish Independent reported. Plans for the project include the construction of a 2.1-million-square-foot town center comprising 1,269 build-to-rent apartments and 585,000 square feet of retail, office and leisure space.
France
* The scheme of arrangement under AccorHotels' A$1.18 billion merger with Australian hotel operator Mantra Group Ltd. has been implemented. The company recently got approval from the Federal Court of Australia to make the scheme legally effective.
* Homebuilder Kaufman & Broad SA is selling its Highlight office complex along the banks of the river Seine in Courbevoie to Eurazeo Patrimoine, through a deal representing a total capital investment of approximately €70 million. The office asset has an area of 24,000 square meters and comprises three office blocks, restaurants and facilities.
The deal also includes a minority stake in a partnership with the Decaux family's investment holding company.
Middle East
* Hyatt Hotels Corp. opened the Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residence Emirates Peral in Abu Dhabi, making it the first Grand Hyatt-branded hotel to open in the emirate.
Other real estate news
* As part of its US$4 billion drive to develop 20,000 beds in the U.S. over the next five years, London-based student accommodation provider Scape acquired its first site in Boston, PW reported. The development will feature about 620 beds.
Celestyn Wong also contributed to this feature.
As of May 31, US$1 was equivalent to 8.84 kronor.
