* Britain has launched a £5 billion package to boosthomebuilding in the country, Reuters reported.Plans call for borrowing £2 billion to address the nation's housing shortage. A£3 billion stimulus fund comprising of money earmarked for housing will be usedto fund £1 billion of short-term loans to small builders and £2 billion will beused for long-term infrastructure projects.
The new fund will lead to the building of 25,000 new homesby 2020, and the plan to use public land will help deliver a further 15,000 inthe same period, according to the report.
* The founder of fashion group Zara, Amancio Ortega,acquired the Torre Cepsaskyscraper in Madrid for €490 million, accordingto Reuters, citing an unnamed source.
The property was bought by Ortega's property investmentbusiness, Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, from Abu Dhabi tycoon Khadem al-Qubaisi.
* TH Real Estate raised €200 million in equity from Germaninvestors for its European Logistics Fund, PropertyInvestor Europe reported.The fund has a target investment volume of €400 million and the company is alsoplanning to further raise €50 million by 2016-end.
* Collegiate AC and Shuman Capital has launched a €300million European Student Living Fund that will invest in delivering studentaccommodations across Europe, PropertyMagazine International reported.
UK and Ireland
* LondonMetricProperty Plc saidit sold two retail parks for a total of £55 million.
Tritax Property Income Fund purchased the 74,000-square-footPierpoint Retail Park in Kings Lynn, U.K., for £24.0 million and a localinvestor acquired the 165,000-square-foot Damolly Retail Park in NorthernIreland for £30.7 million.
* U and IGroup PLC will re-tender Brighton, U.K.'s £100 million CircusStreet project afterfailing to come to a price agreement with contractors, Construction Enquirer reported.
* Hines will put the £500 million Cannon Place building inLondon on the market once it is fully let, in a decision affected by Brexit, PW reported.Taiwan-based Fubon Life was reportedly in talks to buy the building before the dealfell through.
* Hongkong andShanghai Hotels Ltd. will go ahead with a plan to acquire its partner's 50% stake ina mixed-use project in London. The company is buying out Grosvenor Britain& Ireland for the 1-Grosvenor Place property in Belgravia for £107.5million in cash.
* Ebbsfleet Development Corp. disclosed new plans for theGarden City, U.K., development that will deliver up to 15,000 new homes overthe next 15 years, PW reported.The new details include plans for a 484,000-square-foot commercial center to bebuilt around the Ebbsfleet International Station.
* The growth in home values in the U.K. eased in Septemberdue to subdued demand for properties in recent months, Bloomberg News reported,citing Nationwide Building Society. Values rose 5.3% year over year inSeptember, down from the 5.6% pace in August.
* Over in Ireland, Blackstone and BNY Mellon sold theDoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in central Dublin to Deka Immobilien for €180million, PIE reported.
* Developer Johnny Ronan inked a €600 million deal todevelop over 1 million square feet at the Spencer Dock in Dublin, accordingto the Irish Independent. The SpencerPlace development will include four office complexes totaling more than 550,000square feet, two hotels and a 165-unit apartment complex.
This is the biggest property development in the city sincethe crash of 2008, the publication noted.
Germany
* PATRIZIAImmobilien AG is buying the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt on behalf of SamsungAsset Management. IPE Real Estate reportedthe deal to be worth as much as €800 million.
* Garbe Industrial Real Estate, together with KVGInstitutional Investment Partners, created a special logistics fund to investin "premium" and core-plus assets, IPE Real Estate reported.The Garbe Logistik Immobilien Fonds+ is seeking to raise up to €450 million.
* Asterion, a housing firm backed by Anglo-Saxon investors,purchased 1,350 flats in North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt in threeseparate transactions for a total of €53.6 million, PIE reported.The company undertook the acquisitions together with its asset manager, VeleroPartners.
Belgium
AedificaSA Chairman Olivier Lippens has resigned due to "differences of opinion on thecorporate governance." Lippens was a director since 2010 and chairmansince 2014.
Spain
MERLINProperties SOCIMI SA has acquired the Adequa business park in Madrid A-1 corridorfor €380 million. The transaction is expected to close in December.
France
Icade completed the divestment of its services division aspart of its renewed focus on its core property investment and developmentbusinesses.
Icade sold Icade Asset Management and Icade Conseil toColliers International Group, and Icade Property Management was sold to FonciaGroup.
Norway
Geveran Trading Co. Ltd. hired Arctic Securities AS as thefinancial adviser and receiving agent for its mandatory takeover bid forNorwegian Property ASA
Middle East
Saudi Arabian developer Cayan Group has officially begun thesale of its US$266 million Samaya mixed-use residential scheme in Riyadh, SaudiArabia, Arabian Business reported.
Africa
Emira PropertyFund Ltd. and joint venture partner ONE Property Holdings are setto launch aspecialized fund, Enyuka Property Fund, to expand its retail assets and tocreate a larger low local store marketing retail portfolio.
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The Daily Dose Europe, Real Estate edition, is updated asof 6:30 a.m. London time. Some links require a subscription. Articles and linksare correct as of publication time.