Top deals Week 50 (8-12 December 2008)

The largest deal recorded by PropertyEU between 8 - 12 December was the acquisition of the office scheme at 14 Cornhill in the City of London by Libya's sovereign wealth fund for EUR 134 mln. The vendor was German property company IVG.

Top 5 deals* for Week 50 (8-12 December 2008)

1. Libyans return to London with EUR 134m acquisition

2. Immofinanz sells assets for EUR 130 mln

3. Erestone buys in France for EUR 50m

4. Axa spends EUR 40 mln in Sweden

5. Vastned Retails sells Dutch shops for EUR 37m

* Deals for which the investment volume was given

Scroll down for the news on the deals

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1) Libyans return to London with EUR 134m acquisition
Date: 15 December 2008
Category: Office

Libya has made its first investment in the London real estate market since the 1990s with the acquisition of an office property in the City of London district for £120 mln (EUR 134 mln). The 16,000-m² asset at 14 Cornhill was sold by listed German property investor and developer IVG.

The former Lloyds Bank headquarters at 14 Cornhill has been renovated by IVG since it acquired it from Lloyds. The main tenant is Russian bank VTB. It is believed that the transaction volume reflected a yield in the region of 6%. The parties were not available for comment on Friday.

The Financial Times reported that the acquisition was carried out on behalf of Libya's sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority. The fund was established in 2007 to invest the country's foreign reserves abroad. Libya was hampered for years by sanctions imposed due to the country's involvement in sponsoring terrorism, including the Lockerbie bombing. The sanctions were lifted gradually from the late 1990s as Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi engineered a rapprochement with the West.

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2) Immofinanz sells assets for EUR 130 mln
Date: 9 December 2008
Category: Office

Struggling real estate group Immofinanz has sold assets in its native Austria for EUR 130 mln to shore up its badly squeezed financial situation. The firm has to sell properties to meet the need to raise more than EUR 100 mln by the end of the year.

Immofinanz has said it will need another EUR 150 mln before the end of the book-year in April 2009. Further sell-offs are under negotiation but Immofinanz said it will have to be selective in the deals it does given the difficult market environment.

On Friday, Immofinanz said it had sold the office property City Point Vienna to DekaBank for EUR 93 mln and 10 residential properties for EUR 36 mln to Austrian buyers.

Immofinanz also said last week that the question of what happened to the EUR 512 mln which went 'missing' under former Immofinanz/Immoeast CEO Karl Petrikovics has been resolved.

'Most of the money was evidently used to purchase shares, and some to purchase investments within Constantia Privatbank. Losses were incurred there due to falling share prices. However, the executive board considers the bond to be a solid investment as it is guaranteed by Constantia Packaging BV,' new CEO Thomas Kleibl said.
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3) Erestone buys in France for EUR 50m
Date: 10 December 2008
Category: Office

Erestone, a property investment fund created last year by Spanish bank Santander and French construction group Bouygues Construction, has acquired from builder Sodéarif an office project in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, for around EUR 50 mln. The property, which is located in the financial and commercial district of the city, comprises around 11,000 m² of space which will be occupied by ETDE.

According to French media, the project was designed by architect Hubert Godet and is being financed by RBS. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.

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4) Axa spends EUR 40 mln in Sweden
Date: 9 December 2008
Category: Retail

Swedish private equity firm Sveafastigheter has sold part of the newly developed retail park Hansa City in the Swedish city of Kalmar to German property fund managed by AXA Investment Managers Deutschland for EUR 40 mln.

Jones Lang LaSalle advised Sveafastigheter on the deal.

The Hansa complex currently comprises a lettable area of 27,000 m². The plan for the area allows for further construction of some 13,000 m² of lettable area within the parts still owned by Sveafastigheter. The Swedish company is preparing the construction of a fashion galleria with approximately 25 tenants.

Sveafastigheter acquired the properties as part of the acquisition of Kalmar Tech Park from Volvo and has since then in co-operation with local asset management partner P&E Förvaltning in Kalmar worked on the development of the new retail park, which is located next to the IKEA store in Kalmar that was opened in 2006.

Tenants in the divested part of the retail park are Bauhaus, El-Giganten, Rusta, Hemtex, Sova, Mairo, and Plantagen, of which all but Plantagen have moved in to their premises. Plantagen is expected to open their store in March 2009.

Sveafastigheter has carried out four separate portfolio divestments in 2008, of which two - the current divestment and the sale of part of the Mölnvik retail park in Värmdö municipality in Stockholm county - account for more than 95% of the divestment volume. The total value of portfolios divested by Sveafastigheter in 2008 now amounts to SEK 800 mln (EUR 77 mln), generating an average yield of 6%.

Through its funds Sveafastigheter owns properties worth some EUR 700 mln with a lettable area, including development projects, exceeding 500,000 m².
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5) Vastned Retails sells Dutch shops for EUR 37m
Date: 10 December 2008
Category: Retail

VastNed Retail has sold part of its Dutch property portfolio to a private investor for just over EUR 37 mln, reflecting a net initial yield in the region of 7.5%. The legal transfer will take place in the middle of December 2008 and the income will be used to repay bank loans.

VastNed Retail, the Rotterdam-based pan-European retail property fund, said the sale price corresponds to the book value at end-September 2008. The shops sold generate an annual gross rental income of EUR 2.8 mln. Amsterdam-based retail property broker Bouman Visscher Van Limbeek advised VastNed Retail on the transaction.
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