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Council investment in UK shopping malls to hit £1B by 2020-end; Dutch RE peaking

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Council investment in UK shopping malls to hit £1B by 2020-end; Dutch RE peaking

* According to a report from Revo and Lambert Smith Hampton, council investment in British shopping centers is on track to hit £1 billion by the end of 2020, with local authorities responsible for 12% of all such investment made by value since 2016, Property Week reported.

As per the research, local authorities pumped over £770 million in shopping centers since 2016, in contrast to U.K. institutions, which completed net sales of £1.84 billion since 2016. British real estate investment trusts also emerged as net sellers, to the tune of £309 million since 2017, according to the authors.

* Investors are looking toward emerging market segments such as student housing, healthcare and hotels in addition to emerging cities for higher yields and returns, as the Dutch real estate market starts nearing its peak, Property Magazine International reported, citing Bouwinvest's annual Dutch real estate market outlook 2020-2022. The report signals multiple potential risks on the horizon such as an economic slowdown.

* Private equity giant Blackstone Group Inc. chose a consortium led by South Korea-based Hana Financial Investment Co. Ltd. and London-based asset management firm AGC Equity Partners Ltd. as the preferred bidder for The Squaire commercial complex in Germany, Maeil Business News Korea's Pulse reported, citing investment banking sources.

The consortium is poised to buy the 140,000-square-meter property linked to the Frankfurt International Airport for approximately 1.3 trillion South Korean won, sources said. The parties are set to sign a final deal by September-end or early October, according to the report.

The property's tenant base includes French tire-maker Michelin, multinational consulting firm KPMG, German air carrier Rufthansa, IT service provider Atos SE and Hilton Hotel.

UK and Ireland

* Supermarket chain Aldi Stores Ltd. is aiming to use a £1 billion investment push to grow its Greater London portfolio from 45 to 100 stores by 2025, PW reported. The chain, which attracted more than 800,000 new customers in 2018, intends to open a new shop every week during the next two years and aims to double its presence in the M25.

* Phoenix Spree Deutschland completed a new €240 million term loan facility with NATIXIS Pfandbriefbank AG, PropertyEU reported. Phoenix, which is a U.K.-listed investment firm, specializes in residential real estate in Berlin.

* Mondelez UK Ltd. furthered its stay at Arlington's Building 3 at Uxbridge Business Park in west London by signing a new 10-year lease for 55,000 square feet, PW reported. Mondelez, a U.S. multinational snack manufacturer, has occupied Building 3 as its U.K. headquarters since 2007. In addition, Arlington recently completed the development of an amenity hub, dubbed Clubhouse, within the business park, which is home to Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Xerox, among other firms.

Germany

* La Française, on behalf of South Korean investors Samsung Securities and KB Securities, completed the acquisition of a roughly 150,000-square-meter e-commerce fulfillment center in Rheindahlen, Monchengladbach in the Rhine Ruhr region of Germany. The asset was constructed in July 2019 and is leased on a long-term basis to Amazon.com Inc. It was acquired in a share deal on an off-market basis from the developer, Ixocon Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG.

The property consists of logistics facilities across 3 floors, an office space, a training center and canteen areas, in addition to a car park building of more than 1,000 spaces and 180 trailer bays.

* Dewag Group and Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, on behalf of a Dutch pension fund, agreed to acquire nine German apartment blocks, PropertyEU reported.

* According to PropertyEU, Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management launched its Catella European student housing fund II, which received about €100 million in capital commitments from institutional investors at first close.

Spain

* Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets, on behalf of clients, acquired, through a forward purchase deal, two phases of the 28,000-square-meter Marina Living residential development in Badalona from developer Stoneweg for €77 million. The scheme, which will comprise 216 residential units, is due to be completed in 2021. It will consist of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments for the rental markets and contain 860 square meters of retail space.

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