All articles by Shayla Walmsley – Page 51
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Quebec fund sells high but has lower expectations
CANADA - A New York-based property firm, which is part-owned by Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, has sold a prime Orlando office block to Eola Capital for a reported CA$90.6m (€60.3m) – a record price for the city. Seller Praed...
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UBS buys into Ontario teachers’ power
CANADA - UBS’s infrastructure subsidiary has acquired 50% of an electricity firm co-owned by the €70.4bn Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTTP) for an undisclosed figure. The acquisition of Northern Star Generation from AIG Highs...
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Finnish market ‘remains attractive’ as retail hits the block
FINLAND - The Finnish real estate market remains a good investment opportunity, according to investment management firm Doughty Hanson which has just sold three shopping centres in Helsinki and Oulu. The assets, now sold to ING Real Estate for &#...
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European boom to reduce in 2008
GLOBAL - Real estate markets are currently said to be in "excellent shape" and will remain moderately positive for 2007 before falling off next year, according to a report published last week by Swedish bank SEB. Despite strong investo...
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Supply constraints drive Italy expansion
ITALY - Property adviser Savills is expanding its Rome office in a bid to capitalise on continuing strong investor interest in the Italian market.
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Property returns slow in UK, Eire
EUROPE - Growth in the UK and Irish property markets slowed in Q1, according to the latest IPD data. Irish real estate posted its lowest quarterly returns since the beginning of 2004 –2.2% compared with 5.8% in Q4 2006 – despite outpe...
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EPRA study reveals diversified benefits
EUROPE - A report published by the European Real Estate Association (EPRA) has found low or negative correlations between the performance of real estate equities and other asset classes. The lowest rolling correlation, measured over five years, w...
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UK niche retail REIT raises €234m
UK - The Local Shopping REIT, the UK’s first specialist retail REIT, last week announced it had raised £160m (€234m) from its 87% flotation on London’s main bourse. Although it is too early to gauge the main sources of inve...
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Barclays launches European REIT fund
REAL ESTATE - Barclays Capital is to launch a European REIT fund based on the EPEU index, targeting investors looking to diversify away from UK property. The EPEU index tracks 47 mainly large-cap European REITs, mainly in France, Germany and the ...
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Austrian finance minister joins C–Quadrat
REAL ESTATE - Former Austrian finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser on Friday joined the supervisory board of C-Quadrat, the real estate subsidiary of fund manager Altira, at the firm’s annual shareholder meeting. The firm is priming Grasser ...
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Morley sets out Asia strategy
REAL ESTATE - Fund manager Morley has set out its strategy for investment in Asian real estate on behalf of its largest client, the life insurance business of parent company Aviva. The initial investment of US$2bn (€1.4bn) will involve join...
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Canadian fund acquires discount hotel chain from Accor
REAL ESTATE - The property subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada’s largest pension fund, has acquired Red Roof Inns, a chain of US hotels from Accor for US$1.32bn (€960m). Cadim, the subsidiary, ac...
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Aberdeen targets Nordic investors with French fund
REAL ESTATE - Aberdeen is targeting Nordic pension funds with a fund to be invested mainly in French real estate. The fund management firm made its first acquisition for the Aberdeen Fund France and southern Europe last week, paying GE Real Estat...
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UK derivatives trades report record Q1 values
REAL ESTATE - UK property derivatives in the first quarter of 2007 chalked up 125 transactions worth a record £2.9bn (E4.3bn). This is the equivalent of 10% of direct investment in real estate in the UK, according to figures published by IP...
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Deutsche Börse launches REITs index
REAL ESTATE - Deutsche Börse announced last week that it will launch an index covering real estate investment trusts (REITs). The stock exchange will also launch a separate segment for the asset class "as soon as the first REIT is introduc...
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Schemes ‘should consider alternative alternatives’
REAL ESTATE - Pension funds will increasingly target alternatives within the property sector, according to Arlington Securities. In a research note published last week, the firm urged pension funds to diversify within Europe and across real estat...
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European schemes eye sub-prime action
REAL ESTATE - European pension funds could join class actions against US sub-prime mortgage lenders currently under investigation for poor internal controls and decision-making, according to the law firm representing institutional investors. US i...
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Islamic property fund acquires UK portfolio
REAL ESTATE - The European Islamic Investment Bank plc (EIIB)’s Pan-European Islamic Real Estate Fund last week announced that it has acquired five commercial properties in a £58.8m (€86.7m) from a fund sponsored by Arab Bank Interna...
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Sainsbury ‘should sell property' - shareholder
REAL ESTATE - UK retailer Sainsbury’s should sell off its £7.5bn (€11bn) property portfolio to fix a flawed capital structure, according to Robert Tchenguiz, one of its nine major shareholders. Tchenguiz, whose investment vehicle...
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Macquarie logistics spree targets UK
REAL ESTATE - Macquarie has acquired a UK logistics property developer, Rosemound, for £336m (€493m), 44% of it debt. The acquisition represents a UK development boost for the Australian investor, with 1,000 acres of land and 30 staff...
