Retail investments dominate in September

Retail proved to be the flavour of the month among real estate investors in Europe during September, accounting for EUR 2 bn, or 37% of the overall volume of the top 50 investment deals recorded by PropertyEU.

The aggregate investment volume for the top 50 deals comes to EUR 5.6 bn, with the top 10 accounting for EUR 2.9 bn of that figure.

The retail segment accounted for four of the top 10 investment deals tracked by PropertyEU Research in September. The three biggest shopping centre transactions and one retail portfolio deal in Italy generated just over EUR 1 bn.

The largest shopping centre deal was the acquisition by Allianz Real Estate of an 80% stake in Skyline Plaza in Frankfurt for about EUR 360 mln.

The Czech market saw two major shopping centre deals in September. In the largest of the two, Multi Corporation sold two centres to Meyer Bergman and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan for about EUR 300 mln. Separately, Atruim Real Estate bought Palac Flora shopping centre in Prague for EUR 191 mln.

Over in Italy, WP Carey took control of a fund that owns 20 Metro sale-and-carry stores in a EUR 300 mln deal.

In stark contrast to the retail segment, the office segment is represented in the top 10 with just two deals totalling EUR 313 mln. Overall, offices account for an investment volume of EUR 1.5 bn in our list of top 50 deals.

There are also two major hotel deals in the top 10. The largest being Blackstone acquiring the Mint Hotel chain for EUR 687 mln. Mint operates hotels in the UK, and has one in Amsterdam. In the second of the two, Al Faisal Holding Company of Qatar scooped up the W Hotel development scheme in London for EUR 230, reflecting a 4% net yield.

GLL's acquisition of a French logistics portfolio for ERU 177 mln and GSW buying 4,800 apartments in Berlin for EUR 330 mln also figure in the top 10 list.

PropertyEU's deal analysis for the third quarter of 2011 appears in the November magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe.