CBRE Global Investors has bought a XL logistics platform in Miralcampo, Spain, on behalf of its CBRE European Industrial Fund (EIF).

The 61,000 sqm logistics warehouse is located in Azuqueca de Henares, in the Henares corridor, near Madrid. It has direct access to the A-2 Madrid-Barcelona motorway, one of the main logistics hubs in Spain.

Spanish resorts have long drawn in hordes of European holidaymakers looking for a spot of sun, sea and sand but now they’re building up a fan base among hotel investors as well. Resort hotels made up 54 percent of all hotel transactions in Spain last year, with properties on the Canary Islands accounting for almost 30 percent alone, driven by the triple attractions of steady GDP growth, a depreciating Euro and falling oil prices.

It appears that the global economic slowdown is now a fact. The IMF has been forced to cut world growth forecasts by two tenths of a per cent for 2016, leaving them at 3.2%. We are faced with a backdrop of volatile financial markets and somewhat lethargic international trade. 

Blackstone, the world’s largest real estate asset manager, has raised €5.5bn for a new European real estate fund as investors in the sector shift their focus from the US towards Europe.

The New York-based private equity house is on track to equal its own previous record of $7bn for a Europe-focused real estate vehicle when it closes the fund later this year.

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and central banks are boosting their allocations to real estate ahead of private equity and infrastructure, according to research by Invesco.

The fourth annual Global Sovereign Asset Management Study shows that SWFs are favouring property as they seek to increase their alternatives exposure.

Hispania has acquired three hotels in Ibiza with a total of 484 keys for EUR32 million. The properties are the Hotel Galeón (182 keys); the Hotel Cartago (196 Keys); and the Hotel Club San Miguel (106 keys). 

The real estate recovery continued during May, with the publication of several sets of positive results, in particular about the residential segment, and the completion of several transactions.

In terms of transaction highlights during May, Banco Sabadell sold a €1,000 million NPL portfolio to Grove and Lindorff. Meanwhile, Fortress completed its withdrawal from the Spanish market as it closed the sale of its recoveries business Geslico to Axactor, a Norwegian investment fund; and Värde finalised its purchase of the residential property developer Aelca, as it seeks to become the largest player in the property development sector in Spain. Activity also increased in other regions, with Juan Luis Gómez-Trénor acquiring the Generali Building in Valencia from the Zriser Group for €30 million and Helvetia completing its sale of the “La Vasco Navarra” building in Pamplona to Fitbox.

Three-quarters of institutional investors plan to increase their allocations to real assets, delegates discovered at JP Morgan’s annual Global Real Assets conference in New York.

JP Morgan polled 155 investors and found that 75% planned to up their allocations over the next five years by adding new forms of real assets to their existing real estate portfolios.

The Spanish REIT Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios has successfully completed a capital increase of EUR231 million, which the company plans to use to execute its imminent investment pipeline. 

Institutional investors are increasing capital allocations to alternative strategies in a quest for strong returns in the low-interest-rate environment, according to a new study from BNY Mellon.

Fund managers across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific were collectively responsible for real estate assets worth EUR2 trillion (gross) in 2015, according to the INREV/ANREV/NCREIF Fund Manager Survey 2016. 

This total is more than 10 per cent higher than the EUR1.8 trillion total recorded in 2014.

The Spanish island of Mallorca has become home to Europe’s first Park Hyatt resort. The 142-room Park Hyatt Mallorca is part of the 49-acre Cap Vermell Estate mixed-use development on the island's northeast coast, which also includes residential units, a beach club and a country club (due to be completed in July). 

CBRE Global Investment Partners (GIP) and Sonae Sierra have created a joint venture to own and operate Iberian shopping centres.

The venture has been launched with three regional shopping centres in Spain and Portugal out of the Sierra fund.

European non-listed real estate funds last year delivered their best performance since 2006, according to INREV.

The industry body’s annual index recorded a 9.7% return, the highest since before the financial crisis and up from 8% in 2014, according to INREV’s latest Annual Index.

The Coordination and Admissions Committee of the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) has submitted to the Board of Directors a favourable report on Silvercode Investments Socimi, stating that the company is eligible for admission to the SOCIMIs (REITs) the market, following a review of all the information presented by the company.

Building permits for new homes in Spain rose in March to 6,176 units, more than double the year earlier figure, as the real estate recovery takes hold and credit becomes more readily available. The number of licenses was the highest since September 2011.

The impact of the recent economic recovery appears modest but palpable: according to the latest available data, in 2015 the economies of the Eurozone created more than 3.0 million additional jobs (at end-September), the unemployment rate fell by around 1pp of the active population to 10.5%. In Q1 2016, on a rolling year basis, the total investment volume amounted to €253 bn, 8% up on the same period in 2015. Offices remained investors darling with a stable share of 45 %, rising to € 113bn (+7%). The investment in the retail segment were 18% up. 

AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (AXA IM - Real Assets) has held the final closing of the Pan-European Value-Added Venture (PEVAV) with total commitments of EUR445 million from a global institutional investor base.

PEAV has an investment capacity of up to EUR890 million including leverage, to invest in value-add opportunities throughout Europe.

Hotels are establishing themselves as one of the most sought-after assets in the real estate sector. The historically high RE investment level in 2015 boosted the hotel segment in particular, which accounted for 20% of total commercial real estate investment volumes during the year – excluding residential – compared with 11% in 2014.

The abundance of capital and shortage of high-quality assets will drive real estate development in 2016, as well as boost investment in alternative sectors. Those are the findings of a report, Trends in the European Real Estate Market in 2016,prepared by PwC on the basis of 550 interviews with key players in the sector.