* A consortium comprising Brookfield Asset Management Inc.'s Brookfield Property Group LLC, Olayan Group and The Peel Group confirmed media speculation about mulling a possible cash takeover offer for British shopping center landlord Intu Properties PLC, months after the potential target dropped its deal with peer Hammerson PLC.
According to an Oct. 4 statement, the consortium, which has until Nov. 1 to announce a firm intention, has not yet approached Intu's board regarding the matter, and there is no guarantee that the talks will lead to a deal.
* Sweden's Klövern AB offered to buy all of its local peer A Group Of Retail Assets Sweden AB, or Agora's ordinary class A, class B and preference shares in an approximately 936 million-kronor cash deal. Klövern is offering 30.00 kronor in cash per ordinary class A and class B shares it does not already own, and 275.00 kronor per preference share in Agora. The acceptance period for the offer starts Oct. 12 and ends Nov. 9.
UK and Ireland
* Corestate Capital Holding SA purchased CRM Students Ltd., the U.K.'s largest independent student accommodation management company, for about €17 million. The acquired company has 23,000 beds across 145 locations in the U.K.
* U.S.-based, data center-focused real estate investment trust CyrusOne Inc. is set to work on its first data center project in Ireland after securing planning approval for its €400 million development in Dublin, the Irish Independent reported.
* Oxenwood Real Estate and Canada-based Alberta Investment Management Corp. are looking to sell the Ultrabox logistics portfolio in the U.K. for £325 million, after acquiring it in 2017 for £286 million from Lone Star and Angelsea Capital. Overseas investors have expressed interest in the portfolio, which comprises nine properties totaling 3.87 million square feet.
* Investment company FirethornTrust bought the Quay House building in London's Canary Wharf district for a £200 million redevelopment, Property Week reported. The 20,000-square-foot asset on a 0.47-acre site was acquired for £26 million in an off-market deal. The redevelopment could include plans for a hotel, serviced apartments and/or new homes, the report added.
* The Swansea City Council in the U.K. approved Rivington Land's plan for the £120 million initial phase of the Swansea Central regeneration project, involving a 3,500-capacity digital indoor arena, a coastal park, a digital plaza, as well as new homes, and retail and leisure spaces, PW reported. The project is set to be partly funded by the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City deal, an investment agreement for 11 major projects across South West Wales.
* British artist and entrepreneur Damien Hirst's Science (UK) production company bought the 40 Break Street building in London for £40 million to accommodate its new London studio and art complex, PW reported. Enstar Capital and LandCap sold the 27,742-square-foot building, the refurbishment of which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019, according to the report.
Germany and Austria
* Patrizia Immobilien AG aims to digitize its management processes through its stake acquisition in Evana, a provider of data management services including artificial intelligence technology for the real estate industry. The company will also digitize the management of its €40 billion worth of assets under management.
* German insurer Gothaer Asset Management AG will spend up to €100 million on the development of new childcare facilities in Germany as a first investment for its new fund. The initial investments are due for October.
* Round Hill Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge jointly bought nine residential assets comprising 362 units in Berlin in separate deals for a total of about €75 million. The properties were acquired for the joint venture's new strategy that targets residential assets and portfolios, with an initial focus on the greater metropolitan area in the German capital.
* German investment manager Peakside Capital, in a partnership with LGT Capital Partners funds, purchased a 27,000-square-meter office portfolio in Frankfurt on behalf of its Peakside Real Estate Fund III, Property Investor Europe reported. A fund managed by HVB Immobilien sold the two office buildings for an undisclosed amount, the report added.
Spain and Italy
* Invesco Real Estate Ltd. paid €173 million to buy a three-property logistics portfolio in Spain for two of its German separate account mandates. The deal comprises 189,500 square meters of space in Barcelona and Madrid.
* TH Real Estate bought a roughly 244,340-square-foot prime logistics property in Verona, Italy, on behalf of its European logistics portfolio. The fully let asset is undergoing an approximately 80,729-square-foot extension
France
* A property unit of insurance company Covéa acquired the five-building, 26,500-square-meter headquarters of national newspaper Le Figaro in Paris. The Qatar Investment Authority acquired the asset in 2012, in an over €600 million deal, which also involved another asset in the city's central business district.
Africa
* Pan-African real estate investor Grit Real Estate Income Group's CEO told PW that the company plans to raise at least $115 million via an issuance of a secured bond in 2019 after receiving expressions of interest from investors following its London listing in July. The funds to be raised will be used to refinance existing debt and finance new purchases.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Data Dispatch: Advanced Micro Devices leads S&P 500 again in September
The Daily Dose Europe, Real Estate edition has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
Rollen Catorce contributed to this report.