News from 07/21/2008
Berlin: Sitac Ltd. plans €400mn industrial and trade park
According to the daily newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, the British and Indian real-estate investment company Sitac Ltd. plans to develop a €400mn industrial park in the Adlershof district of Berlin. The site is an 85,000 sqm area secured by Sitac in 2004, located between the “Wissenschaftstadt,” or “Science City,” and the new A 113 expressway. Buildings with a gross floor area of up to 137,000 sqm are permitted there. Some 25,000 sqm of sales area, hotels, leisure and sports facilities, car dealers automobile showrooms and company headquarters are projected. The master plan for the project is to be perfected by this coming fall; commencement of construction is scheduled for the beginning of 2009. Bernhard Hildebrand from RE Management & Development Ltd., the developer and operator selected for the project, told the paper that, “In five to seven years, the premises will be basically completed and rented.”
Mariner Financial: Australians want to invest €500mn in nursing homes
According to reports in Australian media, the Australian investment company Mariner Financial wants to invest approximately €500mn in European facilities for senior citizens. A part of the investment is to be allotted to Germany, as German law supports better housing for the elderly. Therefore, Mariner Financial is forming a joint venture with HSH Real Estate AG. HSH Nordbank is to provide financing. The firms reported founding the joint company to the Federal Cartel Office last April. HSH estimates that in Germany alone, the demand for nursing facilities will climb to around €12bn by 2020.
Berlin: Mediaspree investors want to build despite referendum
Despite a referendum vote against construction on the banks of the Spree River, the investors in the Mediaspree project do not intend to abandon their plans. “We have a valid building permit since March, 2008. We are therefore going to start building in three to four weeks,” said Stefan Sihler, spokesperson for a syndicate founded on Friday consisting of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Kilian group, Stofanel Investment AG and state-owned Berliner Hafen- und Lagerhausgesellschaft (Behala), among others. Sihler dismissed the Mediaspree opponents with the argument that the referendum came much too late. “At the referendum, not even 0.9% of the population of Berlin voted against a project that concerns the whole city. And now the will of this minority is simply to be implemented? That makes no sense at all,” said Sihler to the daily newspaper B.Z. Sihler is the business manager for Labels Berlin, a project developer that plans to build a five-story building with 7,000 sqm of usable space for 12 fashion firms on a lot measuring some 5,000 sqm.
Financial market: EU wants to impede the sale of bundled credit
Due to the financial crisis, the EU Commission wants to narrowly restrict European bank activity on the international loan market. The daily newspaper Financial Times Deutschland reported that Brussels' proposed policy would allow institutions to buy loans bundled into bonds only when the sellers retain 10% of them on their books. Moreover, the sum of the loans which one bank can grant to another bank would be limited. The confidential draft for new equity directives for banks (Basel II), to which the paper claims to have access, stipulates that the banks can bind no more than one quarter of their equity in such loans. “These requirements should be enforced by the investors, so they can be applied effectively to issuers that are not European banks,” the draft says. Charlie McCreevy, the commissioner for the internal market, reportedly wants to launch the guidelines in the fall.
Gagfah: Board reduced to four members
According to the daily newspaper Financial Times Deutschland (FTD), Gagfah has reduced its board from six to four persons. Ulrich Weber, the Chairman responsible for takeovers, left the firm, and Chief Operation Officer Jörg Deisel will soon be resigning from the supervisory body, the paper said. A spokesperson for the company controlled by US buyout investor Fortress told the FTD that CEO Burkhard Drescher will now be responsible for acquisition strategy. The paper reported that the company does not wish to make any comment regarding Deisel.
Design Bau: Joint venture founded with Conwert Immobilien
Together with Conwert Immobilien Gruppe from Austria, Design Bau is founding “CD Deutsche Eigenheim” AG. A total of 75% of the shares will be held by Design Bau and Conwert Immobilien Invest will take 25%. In its first move, the new company has acquired, via two project companies, the Potsdam project “Bornstedter Feld” for around €33.4mn. The project has 310 units that were planned and developed by Design Bau. Financing by a German bank has been secured, Design Bau reported. CD Deutsche Eigenheim's business plan is to acquire further projects comprising one-family, duplex and town houses ready for occupancy, which will then be offered for rent or sale. The new firm’s board is made up of Felix Krekel, Chairman of Design Bau, and Jürgen Kelber, CEO of Conwert Immobilien Invest.