News from 08/11/2008
HCI Capital AG: Issuing house lowers earnings forecast
HCI Capital AG has lowered its earnings forecast for the 2008 financial year. Instead of a year end, after tax net profit of €33mn, the firm now expects to "break even." This is largely attributable, according to the Hamburg based issuing house, to €24.8mn in write-downs on shares of commercial U.S. property loans which led, for the first half of the year, to a consolidated net loss before taxes of €18.5mn. The company still intends to place aggregate equity capital of €880mn before the year's end. During the first half of the year, the level of investment rose by 15% compared with the previous year, from €296.2mn to €340.5mn.
Insurance: Sector to expand real-estate activity
Property will still be an important theme for German insurance companies this year: more than 60% of the insurance firms intend to increase the real estate portion of their total capital holdings. Indirect investment is playing a particularly strong role in equity planning where, on average, growth of about 25% is expected. This is the result found by a trend poll conducted by Ernst & Young Real Estate among some 50 firms. The companies questioned were the biggest German insurance firms and pension funds that trade in real estate. The most popular target for insurance companies was said to be Europe: 80% of the enterprises polled are planning to invest in funds having that orientation, and/or acquire properties in European countries. High demand—more than 50%—was also recorded for real estate in Asia.
Deka Immobilien: Shopping center acquired in Lithuania
Deka Immobilien GmbH has acquired the Akropolis Shopping Center in Kaunas, Lithuania. The shopping center, which opened in 2007 in the heart of the city center, is to be integrated into the special assets of the WestInvest InterSelect open-ended mutual real estate fund. The object has a total area of approximately 60,000 sqm on four floors. The seller is Akropolis, UAB, a retail property developer. This acquisition is the second investment in Lithuania for Deka Immmobilien. In 2007, it acquired the BiG Shopping Center in Vilnius for its Deka-S-Property Fund No. 2.
Darmstadt: Züblin Development starts second construction phase of "Europa-Arkaden"
Züblin Development has laid the cornerstone for the second construction phase of the "Europa-Arkaden" in the Europaviertel, or European Quarter, at the main railway station in Darmstadt. This stage of the office project comprises 8,000 sqm of rental office space on six floors and an underground garage with 105 parking spaces. According to the online edition of the daily newspaper Darmstädter Echo, completion is scheduled for late summer of 2009. None of the flexibly dividable areas are rented as yet. The new building is Züblin Development's third project in Darmstadt's Europaviertel after the "Europahaus" and the first stage of the Europa-Arkaden. The latter comprises 7,350 sqm of rental office space, which is now completely occupied.
Munich region: Citizens vote in favor of €100mn wellness complex
In a referendum held on Sunday, the Bavarian town of Geretsried spoke out in favor of the construction of a €100mn wellness complex called "Spaladin." There were 7,356 voters (79.61%) who supported upholding the development plan. The complex is to be constructed in a former gravel pit on the edge of the Gelting district's industrial area. A thermal bath, a spa, two restaurants and a four-star hotel with 120 rooms are planned. The project's investor is the Saudi sheik Adnan Zainy; New Men Consulting GmbH seated in Bavaria is to be the operator. A special meeting of the urban construction committee concerning the matter has been scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday.
Berlin: BMW stopping new €80mn building?
According to a report in the news magazine Focus, the car maker BMW is putting a hold on its plans for a branch in Berlin that was to measure 40,000 sqm. A spokesperson for the concern repudiated the report, however, saying that there are "no changes at the moment" regarding the new €80mn building planned for the Messedamm in Berlin's Charlottenburg district. On the other hand, the ground-breaking ceremony slated for last March has not yet taken place. Last week, it became clear that BMW had, for economic reasons, called a halt to its plans for a sales and service center in Nuremberg that would have cost €42mn.
CO2 building renovations: Federal government raises subsidies by €500mn
The federal government's program for CO2 building renovations was increased by €500mn to €1.4bn. Federal Minister of Transportation Wolfgang Tiefensee declared that demand for subsidies for better insulation and modern heating systems during the first half of the year was "much higher than originally assumed" and the €900mn provided for all of 2008 had already been depleted by the end of July. In order to secure the continuation of the program, he went on, the decision was made to increase funding. From 2005 to 2007, some 290,000 residential buildings—more than 650,000 residential units—were comprehensively renovated or newly built to high energy-saving standards using Federal funds. The Ministry reported that CO2 emissions were reduced in this way by more than 2mn tons annually, saving €500mn in heating costs.