Editor's choice: top real estate headlines

A selection of the leading property headlines from around Europe at a glance:

US's TPG eyes City trophy - PROPERTY WEEK
TPG, the US private equity group, is set to make its first investment in UK real estate by taking control of a prime City building occupied by WestLB, the German bank.

TPG is pairing up with Cheyne Capital, a credit hedge fund, to buy £32 mln of junior debt secured against Woolgate Exchange and use its position to take control.

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Orchid shares halve amid plea on capital - FINANCIAL TIMES
Shares in Orchid Developments halved in price on Thursday to 1.6 pence after the Bulgaria-focused and London-listed property company said it was in urgent need of fresh capital.

Orchid was one of several eastern Europe developers to join London’s junior market during the boom years as investors sought to capitalise on the region’s untapped property markets. The company was floated on the AIM stock exchange at 95 pence in July 2005 and reached a high of 174 pence on the eve of Bulgaria's accession to the EU in 2007. By December 2011, net debt totalled EUR 129 mln.

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AFI Development expects losses - COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
AFI Development, one of the leading developers in Russia, is forecasting that losses caused by the revaluation of projects under development and losses due to writedowns of real estate investments will total approximately $240 mln (EUR 194 mln) before taxes in the second quarter of 2012. As a result, the company expects the gross value of the portfolio will drop from $2.8 bn to $2.4 bn

The revaluations stem from changes associated with new urban planning policy principles in Moscow, which involve large-scale audits of all investment projects in the city, as well as protection and minimisation of new construction in the historic city centre, redundant construction and demolition.

Established in 2001, AFI Development was admitted to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2007. The company focuses on large-scale development projects in Moscow and the Moscow region. Its portfolio includes more than 400,000 m² of completed properties and 1.6 million m² in the pipeline.

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