News from 01/23/2008
Schleswig: Buss Group investing €150mn in neighborhood project
The Hamburg-based Buss Group is participating in the urban development project “Auf der Freiheit“ conducted by the Schleswig investment group Team Vivendi in Schleswig to the tune of €150mn. The total investment for development of the new neighborhood on the northern bank of the Schlei river will run to about €350mn. The Buss Group intends to construct a residential park and a 150 berth marina on 10.5 hectares during the coming four to six years. The daily newspaper Schleswiger Nachrichten reports that at least part of the sum is to be provided by property funds. In addition to the residential properties, a three- to four-star hotel, a vacation park, a center for events and a nursing establishment are projected on the area acquired two years ago by Team Vivendi.
Investment market: "No hard landing"
Despite the global credit crisis, LaSalle Investment Management estimates there will be no hard landing on the property investment markets. They view the total outlook for investments as still good because institutional investors are generally increasing their allocations to real estate and fundamentals remain strong and capable of weathering a slowing global economy. There are even new opportunities, says Jacques Gordon, responsible for global investment strategies at LaSalle Investment Management, as tighter lending requirements in North America and Europe ”are putting moderate-leverage investors in a better position to secure deals at improved pricing.“ Robin Goodchild, LaSalle’s Head of European Research and Strategy, continues: “For those who do not rely on financial engineering and carry trades to generate pro-forma returns, the future offers a return to more normal leverage and margin levels which enable those who truly understand the property markets to prosper.”
Great Britain: Investors take flight from property funds
British property funds are in dire straits because their investors are fleeing in droves. Yesterday, Scottish Widows was forced to close a fund with a volume of £2.1bn (approximately €2.8bn). Some of the investors must now wait 180 days before getting their invested capital back. Before that, Scottish Equitable, the British subsidiary of the Dutch insurer Aegon, imposed a waiting period of up to twelve months for redemptions from a fund with a volume of €2.6bn. At present, British property investors have no access to more than €10bn in funds. The reason is the rapidly sinking value of commercial properties in Great Britain.
Central Eastern Europe: Every third firm needs more office space
Around one third of all companies active in Central Eastern Europe need more office space, according to a poll taken in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary by the Swedish project developer Skanska. On the other hand, only 7% of those questioned expect to need less area. Especially in Czechia, firms seem to need additional office area: 41% of those questioned here anticipate a rising number of employees. For those questioned in the Czech Republic, the central criterion for a decision to rent is a building’s energy costs. 600 companies with at least 50 employees or at least 500 sqm of office space participated in the poll conducted in October and November.
Munich: Möbel-Höffner rents 5,350 sqm of logistics area in the Logicpark
Höffner Möbelgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG is renting 5,350 sqm of storage and logistics area as well as 150 sqm of office space in the Logicpark in Bergkirchen close to Munich. Realogis acted as intermediator. Möbel-Höffner, one of Germany’s biggest full service furniture suppliers, is constructing a furniture store in Munich since the beginning of this year.