Top 5 deals, Week 4 (19 - 23 January 2009)

The largest real estate investment transaction reported by PropertyEU between 19 - 23 January 2009 was the acquisition by HongKong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH) of 20% of Centre International de Conferences in Paris from Qatari Diar for EUR 100 mln.

Top 5 deals* for Week 4 (19-23 January 2009)

1. Qatari Diar sells 20% of Paris conference centre for EUR 100m

2. Land Securities completes sale of Fleet St for £74m

3. Electra, Kamor buy Dutch DIY centers for EUR 64m

4. Invesco buys Czech mall for EUR 50m

5. DIC sells Frankfurt's Grunhof centre for EUR 47m

* Deals for which the investment volume was given

Scroll down for the news on the deals

_________________________________________

1) Qatari Diar sells 20% of Paris conference centre for EUR 100m
Date: 22 January 2009
Category: Hotels

Qatari Diar, the real estate investment arm of the Qatari government, said on Wednesday that it is selling a 20% stake in the Centre International de Conferences in Paris to HongKong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH) for EUR 100 mln.

Hong Kong-listed HSH and Qatari Diar have agreed to re-develop the building as a 200-room hotel named Peninsula Paris. The hotel and ancillary facilities will be managed by a subsidiary of HSH for a period of 30 years with an automatic renewal of a further 20 years. The estimated re-development cost will be financed through a combination of commercial borrowings and the resources of Qatari Diar and HSH in proportion to their respective shareholdings.

Under the agreement, HSH will invest EUR 50 mln to redevelop the scheme. Construction work is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2009, following vacant possession of the building with completion expected by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Michael Kadoorie, chairman of HSH, said, 'Paris is a strategic destination for the group and the Peninsula Paris most importantly will mark the company's first hotel in Europe.'

Located on Avenue Kleber in the centre of the city, the building was originally built and opened in 1908 as the Majestic Hotel. It is now used as an international conference centre by the French foreign affairs ministry.

Qatari Diar acquired the property in August 2007 from Qatar-based Barwa Real Estate for EUR 465 mln.

_________________________________________

2) Land Securities completes sale of Fleet St for £74m
Date: 23 January 2009
Category: Office

Land Securities has completed the sale of its Fleet Street Estate to the City of London Corporation for £74 mln (EUR 78 mln). The Fleet Street Estate comprises eight adjoining self-contained buildings which provide an aggregate lettable floor area of 18,628 m².

The freehold site occupies a prime position in the heart of London's Midtown district. A substantial part of the site is occupied by the Office of Fair Trading. Ownership is being transferred to the City in three tranches.

'We believe that the capital released by this sale will work better for us by generating outperformance in other areas than through redeveloping this particular site,' said Richard Linnell, head of Investment Management in Land Securities' London Portfolio.

The City Surveyor and Drivers Jonas advised the City, and Land Securities were represented by BH2.

Land Securities is the UK's largest Real Estate Investment Trust with a national portfolio of commercial property worth around £12 bn.

_________________________________________

3) Electra, Kamor buy Dutch DIY centers
Date: 22 January 2009
Category: Retail
Tel Aviv-listed firms Electra Real Estate and Kamor have completed their joint acquisition of two shopping centres in the Netherlands and one in Luxembourg for a total of EUR 62.2 mln, in addition to EUR 5.32 mln in costs.

Newspaper Globes reported that the properties are leased to German DIY retailer Hornbach Holding. Electra acquired 45% of the three properties through a Dutch-registered subsidiary and Kamor acquired 50% through Kamor Europe. The properties have an aggregate space of just under 40,000 m².

Globes said the assets generate EUR 4.63 mln in annual rent, giving a return on investment of 7.44%. Hornbach's leases run through 2024 and feature an option to extend. The parties signed a framework agreement in 2006 to acquire eight Hornbach retail centres.

_________________________________________

4) Invesco buys Czech mall for EUR 50m
Date: 21 January 2009
Category: Retail

Global property investment manager Invesco Real Estate has acquired a shopping centre in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary for EUR 49.6 mln, a net yield of 7%. The acquisition from Carpathian Properties s.a r.l. was made on behalf of Invesco's Central and Eastern European Real Estate II Fund (CEE II).

The 18,000 m² Varyada shopping centre comprises 73 retail units and has been fully let since opening in 2005. Key tenants include Interspar, New Yorker, Marks & Spencer, Orsay, Pompo and Hervis Sports. The property was developed by the Denmark's TK Developments.

Frank Pelzer, Fund Manager of the CEE II Fund, said: 'We are delighted to have secured this property, the sixth for the fund, which further helps to diversify its portfolio. With a fund volume of about EUR 300 mln and a target of up to EUR 500 mln, we are continuing to seek further acquisitions in the region in the near future including additional retail investments.'

The CEE II Fund was launched by Invesco for institutional investors in 2004.

_________________________________________

5) DIC sells Frankfurt's Grunhof centre for EUR 47m
Date: 20 January 2009
Category: Investment

DIC Group has sold the Grunhof commercial centre in Frankfurt which comprises 15,000 m² of office and commercial space to Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) for about EUR 47 mln.

Frankfurt-based DIC and MSREF (Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds) acquired the property immediately after its completion in early 2004. In the following years DIC boosted the occupancy rate of the centre which is today nearly 100% leased, the company said. The building houses the headquarters of DIC Group as well as the German head office of Nintendo Europe. Main tenants also include PA Consulting Group, business consultant Grolman Result and the Rewe Group with over 4,000 m² of retail space.

DIC's CEO Ulrich Holler said: 'We acquired this property unlet at a time when demand was low and we had difficult market conditions. The leasing results of the last years show that we succeeded in realising the building's opportunities. What the transaction also shows is that attractively positioned property - also with larger transaction volumes - is still disposable even in the current difficult market environment.'

BVK was advised by Trompetter Immobilien.

_________________________________________