The renewable-energy boom is here. Trillions of dollars will be invested over the next 25 years, driving some of the most profound changes yet in how humans get their electricity. That's according to a new forecast by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that plots out global power markets to 2040.
Read MoreNorth American institutional investors eyeing European property and infrastructure investments
North American institutions are planning long-term investments in foreign infrastructure and are pumping billions of pounds into Europe, according to a report from Armstrong International.
Read MoreEuropean property investment to reach record high in 2015
Investment in property within Europe is set to reach a record high of €250bn this year, with investors remaining keen into 2016 to take on new real estate investments, with low interest rates keeping property relatively attractive, DTZ predicts.
Read MoreMerlin Properties buys listed rival Testa for €1.8bn
Spanish REIT Merlin Properties is paying €1.8bn ($2bn) for listed rival Testa.
An initial 25% stake in Testa, a subsidiary of Spanish property company Sacyr, has been bought by Merlin.
Sacyr said the deal would “significantly improve” its financial position.
The deal, due to complete in the coming months, further increases Merlin’s size.
Read MoreNiche Property Fundraising
In this extract from the Preqin Real Estate Spotlight | June 2015, Abbie Smith examines the recent fundraising successes of private real estate funds focused on non-traditional property types, such as medical/healthcare facilities, senior homes, student housing and self-storage.
Read MoreNew Housing Starts Outnumber Completions For First Time Since Crash
The managing director of Research Services at the Bank of Spain, José Luis Malo de Molina, recently complained that it still isn’t possible to put a figure on the stock of new builds that remain unsold or unlet.
Read MoreSpain Home-Price Growth Lags Rising Purchases as Glut Persists
“Challenging supply-demand fundamentals in the sector are likely to weigh down on the pace of recovery in house prices in the remainder of 2015 and 2016,” said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “The slower rate of increase in house prices in the first quarter of 2015 was disappointing.”
Read MoreCPPIB enters second Spanish joint venture with Intu
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has bought half of the Puerto Venecia shopping centre in Zaragoza from Intu, in what is the second Spanish joint venture with the real estate investment trust (REIT).
Read MoreSWFs set to allocate more to global real estate
Sovereign Wealth Funds are showing a lot of appetite for real estate assets as total AUM in this segment of the alternative funds space continues to build and investors look to diversify their portfolios.
Read MoreEuropean office market vacancy rate drops to lowest level in seven years
According to Savills the average vacancy rate for the European office market was 9.37% in Q1 2015, which is the lowest level recorded since 2009. The firm predicts vacancy may soon fall to 2007/2008 levels of less than 9.0%.
Read MoreReal estate investment provides a good example of Europe
The continental European real estate market is gaining ground on the United Kingdom and other markets that have been quicker to recover in this cycle. The start of the recovery in capital values on the continent, coupled with cyclical opportunities to add value through asset management, has drawn investors back to Europe.
Read MoreThe Tide Is Turning For Spain's Real Estate Market
It was the Cinderella of European real estate, but Spain is now poised to have a ball. The Iberian country’s economy is back in full swing and the investors that once shunned it for its toxic mix of high unemployment, troubled banking sector and free-falling real estate values are now staging a return.
Read MoreGlobal Investors Looking for Real Estate Bargains Flock to Spain
As one of the most moribund housing markets in Europe, Spain has become a magnet for global bargain hunters. Real estate prices are down as much as 50 percent from their peak during a housing bubble, and investors from Asia to the United States and Britain are flocking to Spain to try to catch the uptick.
Read MoreBlackstone buys Spain and Portugal malls
The Blackstone Group has acquired three shopping malls in Spain and Portugal via its fourth European fund on behalf of its pan European retail platform, Multi Corporation, for a price approaching €500 million.
The properties have been bought from Commerz Real, a subsidiary of Germany’s Commerzbank.
In a statement today, both parties highlighted different elements to the transaction. Jaap Blokhuis, chief executive officer of Multi, said the assets were all of “high-quality” and were originally developed by Multi. He added that the properties could be improved further. Meanwhile, Eduardo Moran, management board member at Commerz Real responsible for the transaction said, “In view of considerable interest in such properties on the part of investors, we have acted at a point in time that was ideal from a strategic stance.” He added, “The markets in Spain and Portugal are recently recovering to a considerable degree, consumer demand is stable, and the three shopping centers are very well established.”
Read MoreBanco Popular to sell €451 million worth of Spanish property
Banco Popular is preparing to sell €451 million euros of real estate assets in Spain as international investors return to the country’s property market.
The bank’s portfolio includes 1,753 homes in Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo and the Costa del Sol valued at $300 million , zoned land in 10 regions across Spain valued at €103.4 million and 13 hotels valued at €47.2 million, according to a document sent to investors by N+1, the Madrid-based investment bank advising the seller.
Read MoreMANDARIN ORIENTAL TO PURCHASE THE RITZ MADRID IN A JOINT VENTURE
Saudi Arabian conglomerate The Olayan Group, in a 50/50 joint venture with Mandarin Oriental International Ltd, is to acquire the Hotel Ritz Madrid in Spain for €130 million (€778,400 per room) from Belmond Spanish Holdings and Landis Inversiones. HVS London was pleased to advise Mandarin Oriental on the transaction. Mandarin will manage the 167-room hotel, which dates back to 1910, under a long-term contract. Following its sale, the hotel, in one of the city's exclusive residential areas, is expected to undergo an extensive renovation estimated to cost €90 million, which will increase the purchasers' total investment in the property to more than €1.3 million per room.
European loan portfolio sales could top €100bn this year – study
European loan portfolio sales could top €100bn ($111.5bn) this year, according to PwC, with real estate loan sales remaining popular.
PwC said €59bn of loan sales had either been completed or were in progress at the end of the first quarter of 2015.
Of the €39bn of portfolio transactions in progress in European markets, more than half were in commercial real estate and mainly in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.
Read MoreEurope RE investment to beat 2007 peak
There is €125 billion of new capital targeting European commercial real estate, putting the region on track to beat its previous peak investment volume of €230 billion, said Magali Marton, head of EMEA research at DTZ.
A report from property services firm DTZ revealed that European commercial real estate investment totalled €51.4 billion in the first quarter of 2015, a 40 percent increase on a year ago. Furthermore, following a strong final quarter in 2014, in which €71 billion was invested, the latest figures show volumes over the last 12 months climbed to €208 billion, the first time since 2007 that the €200 billion mark has been exceeded in a 12 month period.
North American institutional investors eyeing European property and infrastructure investments
North American institutions are planning long-term investments in foreign infrastructure and are pumping billions of pounds into Europe.
Read MoreSovereign wealth funds Investing in real estate
Sovereign wealth funds, despite being small in number and secretive in nature, continue to capture attention as a result of their ever growing assets under management and corresponding influence on global financial markets. Today, the total assets of sovereign wealth funds top USD6.31tn, more than double the capital these entities represented in 2008, the year Preqin launched its first Sovereign Wealth Fund Review.
Read More