trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/zwnfqujgzneeah8w7zc0fq2 content esgSubNav
In This List

LEG Immo's FFO I rises in FY'17; AccorHotels-Mantra merger to close in May

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Video

S&P Capital IQ Pro | Powered by Expert Insights

Blog

Q&A: Streamlining Analytics for TCFD Reporting

Blog

Evergrande and the wider impact: a sentiment analytics based perspective


LEG Immo's FFO I rises in FY'17; AccorHotels-Mantra merger to close in May

* LEG Immobilien AG recorded full-year 2017 funds from operations l worth €295.3 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 10.1% from €268.3 million, which came on the back of a 4.5% rise in net cold rent.

Among the attributing factors, the German multifamily housing company also noted the initial effects of acquisitions, a fall in operating costs, the expansion of service activities and lower cash interest expenses.

* Following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's decision to not object to AccorHotels' proposed A$1.18 billion buyout of Australia-based Mantra Group Ltd., Mantra said the merger is expected to close in May, subject to certain customary conditions.

Meanwhile, financial institutions Macquarie Group Ltd. and Credit Suisse Group AG each bought millions of shares in Mantra to become substantial shareholders of the company in light of the proposed buyout.

UK and Ireland

* PfP Capital has set up a £550 million investment platform to spend on build-to-rent opportunities across the U.K. The fund will be seeded through three residential schemes worth £150 million and forward-funded via a special-purpose vehicle.

* Triple Point Social Housing REIT PLC will raise up to £200.0 million by offering as many as 200 million convertible, nonvoting preference C shares at 100 pence apiece to fund its potential investment opportunities.

* The English Cities Fund, a property development partnership between Legal & General Group PLC, Homes England and Muse Developments, is doubling in size to £200 million, with a focus on large-scale and long-term regeneration schemes. The fund is scheduled to deliver five schemes totaling £1.6 billion across the U.K. at an initial investment of £100 million.

* Ivanhoé Cambridge purchased a stake in Peel Logistics Property, making it a shareholder in the business alongside Macquarie Capital, Peel Group and the management, IPE Real Assets reported. The stake acquisition follows the formation of Peel Logistics' first investment vehicle, the Peel Logistics Property UK Logistics Venture, in November 2017, the report added.

* Fashion retailer New Look is looking to shutter 60 of its 593 stores and six sites in the U.K. under a company voluntary arrangement deal due to its trading performance and over-rented store estate. The deal is subject to creditor approval.

* Barwood Capital surpassed its fundraising target for its 2017 Property Fund, with a closing at £76 million. The fund will target undermanaged secondary commercial property stock and income-producing investments in prime regional markets outside of London.

* The Travelodge economy hotel chain plans to expand further in the U.K. by opening 1,900 rooms across 20 new hotels in 2018, Property Week reported. The plans include the opening of the 395-room London City Travelodge in London, which is set to be the company's biggest newly established hotel to date.

* According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the U.K. house price index fell to zero in February as home prices stalled for nine consecutive months and potential sellers ceased property sales, Bloomberg News reported. Over the next five years, house prices and rents are both expected to increase about 15%, the report added.

* Savills Ireland has placed the roughly 4,461.04-square-meter office building on 9-12 Dawson St. in Dublin for sale, on behalf of Bank of Ireland, with a guide price of €35 million. The building, which houses New Ireland Assurance, is being sold as a development opportunity with a potential for an office and retail project.

France

* Gecina's issue of €500 million of 1.625% bonds was almost 2x oversubscribed, the company said in a release. The bond has a 63-basis-point credit spread and is due March 2030. The funds raised will be channeled toward the partial repayment of Eurosic's financing facilities that have shorter maturities and higher credit spreads.

The Nordics

* Cibus Nordic Real Estate AB secured approval for the listing of its shares on Nasdaq First North, with trading of shares to begin March 9. Additionally, the company acquired a property portfolio, comprising 123 properties, valued at €767 million in Finland.

* Technopolis PLC agreed to a five-year, €518 million refinancing facility with three Nordic financial institutions to replace a large part of its bilateral secured bank loans in Finland.

* Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB issued a 325 million-Swedish-kronor, floating-rate bond with a term of three years, maturing March 8, 2021. The senior unsecured bond bears interest at the three-month Stockholm Interbank Offered Rate plus 105 basis points.

* Castellum AB will begin the development of an office building in the Nyhamnen district of Malmö, Sweden, that will serve as the new headquarters of energy supplier E.ON Energy Group. Total investment for the proposed property, which will contain about 24,500 square meters of leasable area, stands at approximately 1.1 billion Swedish kronor.

* Finnish developer SRV signed an agreement to divest two residential towers under its Lapinmäentie 1 development scheme in Helsinki to insurance company LocalTapiola for approximately €65 million. Under the deal, SRV will construct 211 market-financed rental homes and five commercial properties for the buyer across the two building, with completion expected in the start of 2021, according to a release.

Germany

* DIC Asset AG will privately place €50 million worth of corporate bonds with a target volume of €180 million. The notes are expected to be issued and settled March 14, with a maturity set for July 11, 2022.

Middle East

* Dubai-based Danube launched a 300 million-United-Arab-Emirates-dirham residential project in Dubai, containing more than 460 apartment units and other amenities, Arabian Business reported. The project is the company's 10th development under its Jewelz portfolio, which is now valued at 3.14 billion dirhams, according to the report.

* Developer ARADA has chosen Zaha Hadid Architects to design the 1.9 million-square-foot Central Hub at its 24 billion-dirham Aljada mixed-use mega-development project in Sharjah, U.A.E., Arabian Business reported. The first phase of the hub, which is set to attract tourists and residents, will begin in the fourth quarter of 2018, the report added.

Other real estate news

* Redefine Properties Ltd. is negotiating the sale of its 50% stake in the A$600 million Northpoint Tower office building in Sydney to undisclosed private Asian investors. Redefine co-owns the 34-story tower with Cromwell Property Group.

* German real estate investment manager Union Investment Real Estate GmbH acquired the 294-room The Porter hotel in downtown Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon, for roughly €120 million. The boutique and lifestyle hotel was purchased from Widewaters Hotels LLC for open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Global.

Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Data Dispatch: US REITs trade at 15.3% median discount to NAV as of Feb. 28

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.

Anusha Iyer contributed to this report.

As of March 7, US$1 was equivalent to 8.25 Swedish kronor and 3.67 United Arab Emirates dirhams.