Private equity real estate investor, Henley Investments, has enhanced its senior management team with the appointment of Stuart Savidge (pictured) as Chief Financial Officer. Previously filling the joint role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at CBRE Global Investors, Savidge has also held positions at Prestbury,... Read More
Just four months after it acquired St. John’s Retail Park in Bedford, Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust has completed four new signings at the site. Existing occupiers at St John’s — which Schroder paid £31.8m for in May — are Homebase, Next, PC World, Currys and Hughes Direct. Now, under its business plan for the asset,... Read More
Colliers International has hired a business rates specialist to spearhead the expansion of its South West regional office in Bristol. Colliers’ appointments: Steve Plowman (left), Danielle Hatton and Dave Tanswell Heading a trio of new appointments Steve Plowman has been appointed as a director, with responsibility for the South West... Read More
Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF), has completed the sale of the Quadrant Park industrial estate in Hertfordshire, to Royal London Mutual Insurance Society for £16.8 million, refecting an initial yield of 4.95 per cent. The prominent estate was built in 2006 and comprises 116,000 sq ft of high quality warehouse space, situated... Read More
Blackstone Real Estate has entered into an agreement to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts for approximately $6 billion including debt, Commercial Property Executive reports. Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all outstanding shares of Strategic’s common stock for the cash price of $14.25 per share. Blackstone... Read More
The combination of intense competition and low yields in some Western markets is pushing investors toward secondary Central Eastern European (CEE) markets, World Property Journal reports. As a result, they are facing less competition and are able to negotiate more attractive prices on commercial properties, according to research by... Read More
The Singapore-based real estate investment trust (REIT), CDL Hospitality Trusts, has made its first foray into the European hospitality market with the £61.5m acquisition of a Cambridge city centre hotel. The Far East investor bought the 24-year-old Cambridge City Hotel from LR (Cambridge) Limited, citing the UK’s rapidly growing... Read More
Valad Europe, the multi-let real estate investment manager, has sold two office buildings totalling 103,979 sq ft on behalf of an un-named client. Both assets were part of the multi-million pound Dutch Office One portfolio. The largest property — a five-storey block at Europaweg Eight, Groningen — was sold to the Municipality of... Read More
As part of its wider strategy to strengthen its alternatives platform, AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has completed the acquisition of a healthcare development site in Valencia, Spain. The acquisition has been made on behalf of a joint venture involving two clients – a major US Pension Fund and Medical Properties Trust (MPT), a real... Read More
The Crown Estate has announced that leading womenswear brand, Phase Eight, is set to open a new store at CrownGate Shopping Centre in Worcester. Phase Eight has taken a 2,500 sq ft unit situated in the Chapel Walk area of the centre and will join a tenant line-up featuring big name retailers like House of Fraser and Debenhams, alongside... Read More
Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd (CWCL) will be the first company to implement technology helping HGV drivers take alternative routes in order to protect cyclists and reduce pollution and congestion. CWCL will use technology currently being developed by PIE Mapping, a freight routing company which took part in Canary Wharf Group’s (CWG)... Read More
A distribution warehouse in excess of 1 million sq ft is in the pipeline following the acquisition of a 96 acre site in Swindon by new industrial and logistics joint venture db symmetry, formed following the purchase of a 60 per cent stake in Barwood Development by clients advised by Delancey. The site, known as The Hub, occupies a... Read More
The Development Consulting and Agency team at Colliers International’s new Templeback office are inviting fellow city professionals to join them on a journey into Bristol’s bomb-blasted past. The team have organised a Bristol Blitz tour on Wednesday September 16 which will feature a unique guided tour of the city centre,... Read More
The supermarket price war rages on, and many UK brands are beginning to feel the strain of competing with European discounter brands such as Lidl and Aldi. One of the greatest casualties so far has been Morrisons, which has announced a new wave of closures and the sale of the majority of its convenience network following a highly damaging... Read More
The Government has been forced to delay plans to extend the scheme which makes it easier to convert offices to residential use, amid fears that the permitted development rights legislation is depleting office stock and driving up rents, says commercial property agent Prop-Search. Prop-Search Director Simon Toseland The Government was... Read More
A Danish pension fund which launched its British operation from a small ground floor office in London’s Dover Street five year ago has confirmed it is setting up its new 20,000 sq ft headquarters in Nottingham. NOW: Pensions new headquarters at 37 Park Row, Nottingham From a single employee at its West End base, NOW: Pensions will... Read More
Europe’s leading listed commercial property company Unibail-Rodamco has unveiled its latest major project – Wroclavia, a €240 million (£174.6 million) modern retail and leisure destination in the Polish city of Wroclaw. The visionary 764,000 sq ft centre, which will take two years to complete, will house the largest cinema in... Read More
Leading lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret is set to strengthen the premium retail offer at intu Lakeside when it opens a new 11,000 sq ft store at the Essex shopping and leisure destination later this year. The store will be situated in a prime location on the upper mall of the centre where it will join other top international brands... Read More
Luxury fashion and design house, HUGO BOSS, is to double the size of its existing London store on Regent Street by moving into a new space at 178-180 Regent Street, making it the brand's largest flagship store in the UK. A lease has been agreed with the Regent Street Partnership, comprising The Crown Estate and Norges Bank, for a new... Read More
Legal & General has today announced that its property lending arm CLL has agreed to a £220 million, 10 year loan to Secure Income REIT. The agreement is L&G’s first transaction arranged for a third party client alongside its annuity fund. The specialist long term income REIT has secured the financing against a portfolio of... Read More
Northern European real estate investment and asset management firm Cording Real Estate Group has confirmed the appointment of Rodney Bysh (pictured) as joint chief executive officer. Mr Bysh will join Peter Dove as joint CEO in order to allow Cording to further expand its growing investment management platform, as his focus will be... Read More
Commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) is continuing its investment in up-and-coming talent by adding to its Midlands capital markets team. Adam Ramshaw (left) welcomes Ankur Chadha to the capital markets team Ankur Chadha, a 28-year-old surveyor, is joining senior surveyor Adam Ramshaw, head of the firm’s... Read More
