* CBRE Global Investors EMEA has closed CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund II, with final commitments reaching €753 million, including €71.1 million of co-investment capital. The oversubscribed, closed end fund is expected to deliver an 11% net internal rate of return. Its investment focus is in "dominant" shopping centers across Europe.

* Irish bad bank NAMA named Cerberus its preferred bidder for the €3.05 billion Project Gem portfolio, according to CoStar U.K. The debt portfolio is made up primarily of commercial properties in Ireland.

The purchase price was not revealed, but the news outlet said that the portfolio will be sold "at a substantial discount."

UK and Ireland

* Hammerson Plc's £85 million Westquay Watermark development reached a milestone, with the first restaurants at the property opening their doors over the weekend and the remaining to be launched through December. According to a release, the scheme will welcome more than 20 new restaurants to Southampton, England.

The developer said that Westquay Watermark is the U.K.'s largest restaurant and leisure complex.

* Aldgate in the City of London is seeing an increase in residential property prices as more millennial "hipsters and technology workers" flock to the area. Regeneration projects and the relocation of companies like Uber Technologies Inc. have boosted demand for homes in the district.

In fact, Bloomberg News reported, citing Countrywide Plc data, the gap in home prices between Aldgate and Kensington, one of the city's priciest districts, was recorded at 8% in 2016, down significantly from 25% in 2011.

* In Central London, office take-up in November was up 11% month over month to 1 million square feet. Chris Vydra, CBRE's head of city office leasing, said in a release that the strong results for the month were driven by London's robust economy in the wake of Brexit and new space requirements from the merger activity in the legal and insurance sectors.

* Due to strong November sales in the housing sector, Rightmove said it expects home prices in 2017 to increase 2%, which will mark a seventh straight year of increasing prices. Upward price pressure in 2017 is forecast to follow firmer demand observed in November this year.

* Meanwhile, in Ireland, a new strategy to tackle the country's housing crisis will include designating Dublin and Cork as "rent pressure zones," meaning initial rent levels at the cities will be set at the market average, The (U.K.) Times reported.

Nordic countries

* Brunswick Real Estate launched its second property debt fund in the region, with Norway's largest life insurer, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, and Sweden's PRI Pensionsgaranti as backers, IPE Real Estate reported.

CoStar U.K. added that the Brunswick Real Estate Capital II debt fund will offer senior secured loans worth up to 600 million Swedish kronor in Sweden.

* Commerz Real's hausInvest fund is leaving Finland, after agreeing to sell the Life Science Center Keilaniemi office complex, Property Investor Europe reported, citing a company statement. The buyer, Niam, said that the deal will be funded through financing provided by German bank Aareal Bank AG.

Life Science Center Keilaniemi comprises five interconnected office buildings with a combined lettable area of roughly 32,000 square meters.

* Over in Denmark, AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets bought a five-floor, 3,185-square-meter office-retail building in the capital city for €43 million. The asset manager made the acquisition on behalf of German client Frederiksberggade 1.

Spain

* NH Hotel Group entered into a new management contract with Hesperia, prompting its largest shareholder, HNA Group, to reiterate its call for NH Hotel to appoint a new chairman and find a "qualified" CEO. HNA claimed the management contract had certain provisions that do not "provide NH Hotel's non-Hesperia shareholders with adequate protections."

* Axiare Patrimonio purchased the Calle Almagro 9 property in Madrid for €124.0 million in an off-market deal, making it the company's biggest real estate acquisition for 2016. With its latest buy, Axiare Patrimonio's assets are worth a total of €1.23 billion, with a real estate portfolio made up of 71% office spaces, 18% logistics platforms and 11% retail warehouses.

Germany

* Gingko Tree, the real estate arm of Chinese sovereign fund SAFE, is putting an office complex it bought in 2013 for €110 million up for sale, PIE reported, citing local media. It is understood that medical pension fund Berliner Ärtzeversorgung is buying the 78,700-square-meter Adlerwerke property in Frankfurt.

The purchase price was not disclosed, but Quantum Capital and BNP Paribas Real Estate are involved in the transaction deal.

The Netherlands

* To further expand its headquarters for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, Palo Alto Networks is taking up an additional 3,200 square meters of office and parking spaces at the Oval Tower in Amsterdam South East, according to adviser Colliers International.

Romania

* Eastern European Property Fund Ltd. agreed to sell its Romanian subsidiary for an expected price of €1.5 million. After the sale of Southern Properties SRL, the holding company for its property in Bucharest, the company's real estate portfolio will focus on Turkey and Bulgaria.

Middle East

* Dubai Land Department Deputy CEO for Rental Affairs Mohammed Ahmed Yahya told Arabian Business that a new rent index with star ratings will likely be introduced after the department's building classification survey is completed in 2017. Under the classification survey, buildings in Dubai will be given star ratings based on factors such as location, amenities and sustainability.

Other Real Estate news

* Gazit-Globe Ltd. will file a preliminary prospectus supplement for its first public offering in Canada of up to C$90.0 million of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures, at a price of C$1,000 apiece. Underwriters will also be provided an overallotment option, allowing them to buy a maximum additional C$13.5 million of securities at the same price.

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Data Dispatch: Rate hike expectations, postelection bond rout spur demand for MSRs: The carrying yield of aggregate mortgage servicing assets among the top 10 U.S. bank holding companies rose to $31.63 billion for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, up slightly from the second quarter.

Data Dispatch: Asia-Pacific: Asia-Pacific real estate companies raise nearly US$78B YTD: SNL-covered Asia-Pacific real estate companies raised US$1.75 billion in November, the slowest month for capital-raising activity in the past year.

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.