US property developer Hines is in the process of raising new equity for its EUR 500 mln European core property fund to finance an acquisition drive during the first half of 2010.
US property developer Hines is in the process of raising new equity for its EUR 500 mln European core property fund to finance an acquisition drive during the first half of 2010.
'We are looking to buy assets worth a total of EUR 200 mln in the next six months,' Michael Topham, head of Hines Europe, told PropertyEU in an interview.
'Our European core fund is currently looking for some additional capital to invest across Europe's main cities', he said. The company is targeting 'commercial assets in the price range of EUR 80 mln, 100% leased and mainly located in the UK, Spain and Germany,' Topham added.
With European operations in Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK, Hines will also look 'opportunistically at Ireland' in the coming months, according to Topham. Other target markets for potential acquisitions will be Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
Hines has been an active manager, investor and developer in Europe over the past 15 years. Its development pipeline amounts to over 12 million sq ft (645,000 m2) at present, of which roughly 45% for office use and 40% for residential accommodation with the rest being retail, warehouses and hotel projects. In Italy the company is currently developing Milan's Porta Nuova, one of the largest city centre regeneration projects in the country.
The American privately-held group also has around 1 million sq ft of development projects underway in Paris, including the former HQ of Renault which was sold to Gecina last year. Recently Hines also delivered the Zielo shopping mall and Las Rozas office project in Madrid, while in the spring its Die Mitte-Shopping AM Alexanderplatz, a 20,000 m2 shopping centre, opened its doors in the German capital. In the UK, the company counts flagship developments such as Grafton St in the West End and Cannon St in the City of London.
