September 2012 Issue

The background to slotting – the replacement  of lenders’ internal risk-based property lending models with the FSA’s standardised risk assessment model – is a familiar one and the latest developments are discussed elsewhere in this issue of Real Estate Capital. But in the past year we have found that analyses of what slotting actually is […]

UK market overview The Jones Lang LaSalle Balanced Fund Index continued its downward trend in August, falling -0.53%; the largest fall since the trough of summer 2009, writes Ashley Marks. The index has also fallen into negative territory for the 12-month returns, at -1.12%, or -2.51% when secondary market pricing is taken into consideration. This […]

Proposal to abolish open-ended funds includes growing institutional vehicles, reports Lauren Parr

Elamine predicts that champions must emerge in each subsector, reports Doug Morrison

Analysts see an IPO as eventual conclusion to housing giant’s refinancing, writes Doug Morrison

Huge weight of deals are set for refinancing over the next year but quality will ensure stability

Economic stagnation elsewhere makes Germany best bet for bargains, reports Lauren Parr

Canada’s economic stability and booming oil sector are drawing attention, writes Jane Roberts

INREV teams up with ANREV and NCREIF to measure 670 unlisted funds, reports Jane Roberts Investors will soon be able to compare the global and intra-regional performance of real estate funds for the first time. Three industry bodies, INREV, ANREV and NCREIF, have teamed up to create a Global Fund Index to measure 670 unlisted […]

Auction process may deny bondholders best prices, report says

Banks given breathing space but must still adopt FSA’s property risk model, writes Alex Catalano

Real estate is a tricky asset class. For two years now the Financial Services Authority – which has been regulating banks and other lenders – has been trying to push UK banks to ensure that they are holding enough capital in reserve to withstand downturn-level losses on their real estate loans. The regulators justifiably doubt the banks’ […]

DTZ’s attempt to launch an investment management business in Asia ended last month when its four Hong Kong-based staff left. David Schaefer, formerly at Citi Property Investors in Asia, was a high-profile hire in March 2010. However, fundraising for a debut fund came to nothing and he and his team have left. Sources said their […]

AXA REIM has raised capital for a fund to buy mid-sized offices in Tokyo to be asset managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust REIM. The Tokyo Office Property Fund will co-invest with Mitsui’s own Tokyo Office Real Estate Fund and together they have €100m after first closings. TOP will be leveraged up to 50%, targeting an […]

MGPA raised €85m at the first close this month of its core-plus Asia fund for German investors. Three German institutions made commitments to MGPA Asien Spezialfonds, which will focus on developed markets such as Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. MGPA is using the KAG platform of Universal-Investment to provide the regulated fund structure […]

Pension schemes will be able to invest in all five underlying REaLM fund

Oxford loses UK MD Simon Marriott has left Oxford Properties, where he was UK managing director. Marriott joined the real estate arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS from MGPA two and a half years ago to drive acquisitions in Europe. Kinney joins Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group has hired Douglas Kinney from real estate placement […]

Dutch property company TVHG has secured a capital injection that will allow it to carry out €120m of mainly budget hotel developments. Metric Capital Partners,  which was set up last year as a UK-based capital provider to mid-cap European companies, and Hutton Collins Partners invested via a credit instrument with equity participation. TVHG will use […]

Sam Zell, the American tycoon and founding father of the public real estate industry, this month quashed hopes of a US-style REIT renaissance in Europe. Zell told senior directors of leading European REITs that they had little chance of replicating the US experience of the early 1990s, when the mass “equitisation” of real estate laid […]

Up to £75m sought with seven-year issue priced at 6%, above two recent property company offers

Eurohypo has hired Cairn Capital to advise on options for Ireland’s first CMBS deal, which is four months from loan maturity. The €375m Opera Finance (CMH) CMBS is backed by 16 office and retail assets, mainly  in Dublin, valued at €500m in December 2005. The largest property is the 145,000 sq ft Stillorgan shopping centre. […]

Three of the UK’s biggest REITs are raising over £1.1bn of cheap money on the bond markets. Last week Capital Shopping Centres announced a £300m, six-year convertible bond issue, which may be extended by £50m, while Hammerson closed a seven-year senior, unsecured corporate bond, raising €500m. British Land closed a £400m five-year convertible issue earlier […]

Company seeks £122.5m to help pay down maturing Delta CMBS loan

Perella Weinberg has raised €600m for its second pan-European opportunity fund. The US-based manager held a first closing in summer and is to raise further capital to expand Perella Weinberg Real Estate Fund II by early 2013. The first fund raised €1.2bn  in 2007-2008 and is now fully invested. It recently returned capital to investors […]

All Opera (Uni-Invest) class A CMBS noteholders who were eligible have taken up notes in  a new deal, Utrecht Funding, backed by the same properties. A few investors did not take up the notes because they were not entitled to do so, according to a financial adviser on the deal. Utrecht Funding, established by TPG […]

Middle East and European capital makes up for smaller US contribution

Kiran Patel will help Cordea Savills to expand its residential and debt businesses as part of his new role as chief investment officer. The appointment of Patel, who resigned from AXA Real Estate last November, enables Justin O’Connor, who previously filled both roles, to focus on his duties as chief executive. Patel said: “Residential is […]

Company raises €115m to kick off second spezialfond, targeting city flats Aberdeen Asset Management has launched a potential €1bn core fund for the increasing number of investors interested in German housing. Aberdeen started Städte und Wohnen with €115m of capital from four investors and has contracted to buy six assets. Senior Aberdeen analyst Stephan Schanz […]

McLaren Property, now headed by former Capital & Regional director John Gatley, has secured forward funding for two student housing developments. Apache Capital and Tadhamon Capital will fund Paris Gardens, a 253-bed development in Southwark, SEI. The pair have signed a £45m funding agreement on behalf of their jointly-managed, Shariah-compliant Social Infrastructure investment arm. Apache […]

Spezialfonds may win reprieve Unexpected proposals by the German Federal Finance Ministry to abolish all open-ended real estate funds may be watered down. The 20 July draft Capital Investment Code threatened to outlaw Spezialfonds as well as German open-ended funds open to retail investors. However, after lobbying, the German Property Federation says it is optimistic […]

Lloyds is marketing Project Forth, its third UK loan portfolio, and has received first-round bids for the €2bn Project Pittlane Irish loan portfolio. Project Forth is a nominally-£700m valued non-performing loan book being marketed by Morgan Stanley, secured against around 100 properties mainly in northern England and Scotland. Lloyds is seeking initial bids by the […]

US firm aims to buy more servicing operations from retreating banks

External managers increase costs and underperform for pension funds that use them to invest in real estate, Mastricht University research has found. The study of 884 European, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand pension funds from 1990 to 2009 found that, even controlling for fund size and costs, switching from internal to completely external management […]

Keen interest in German housing helps get €754m issue off the ground The second new CMBS to be issued this year has been priced and the bonds are due to be sold this week. The €754m FLORE 2012-1 German multi-family housing agency deal is likely to attract German institutional bond buyers. Deutsche Bank is sole […]

Study based on £56bn of assets monitored by IPD finds FSA’s system of property risk weighting for lenders is “potential threat to financial stability”