Property Funds World Newsletter

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NEWSLETTER | 9 Jul 2020

Capital gains: Savills tips London, Paris and Berlin for rapid coronavirus real estate recovery

It’s all about major European cities this week as we report on deals, developments and more from across the continent.

First into the spotlight are the big three – London, Paris and Berlin – with a report from Savills suggesting that the UK, French and German capitals are Europe’s most Covid-19 resilient cities and are expected to recover fastest from the coronavirus pandemic, fuelled by significant levels of real estate investment. Stockholm and Frankfurt complete Savills’ top five with the smaller markets of Oslo and Gothenburg also tipped to prove more resilient thanks to ‘less expected volatility’.

The London residential market meanwhile, is set for a boost thanks to UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s newly announced Stamp Duty ‘holiday’ on the first GBP500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland up until March 2021. But while London-based Chartered Surveyor and Estate Agent Dexters has welcomed the move, the firm believes the Stamp Duty ‘cash cow’ remains a flawed policy. “The whole idea of Stamp Duty has suffered from ‘mission creep’, having evolved from a relatively harmless token amount to a huge percentage that is stifling and unhealthy for the market,” says Dexters founder Jeff Doble.

Moving from the UK to Italy, we also have news of the first close of a new EUR1 billion ESG City Impact Fund from Italian real estate investment, development and management company COIMA. The fund, which has secured ‘cornerstone commitments’ totalling EUR400 million, has a pipeline of regeneration projects in major Italian cities including Milan and Rome, and will look to accelerate the country’s recovery from the effects of Covid-19 by delivering long-term ‘green’ developments.

US alternative investment firm Angelo Gordon also has further ambitions in the European real estate market, having raised over USD1.5 billion for AG Europe Realty Fund III. The new fund, which attracted strong backing from existing Angelo Gordon investors and a number of new global institutional investors, will target assets, across all property types, located in the UK and major markets in Western Europe and the Nordics.

And finally, we wind up back in London – via Berlin, Hanover and Dublin – with news of the first UK acquisition by Sun Venture. The Singaporean property developer and investor, has exchanged contracts to purchase One New Oxford Street in London's West End.

Property Funds World

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

Dexters, a London-based independent Chartered Surveyor and Estate Agent, has welcomed the UK Chancellor’s attempt to boost the London and wider UK housing market through the announcement of a temporary holiday on Stamp Duty on the first GBP500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland.

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

Italian real estate investment, development and management company COIMA's ESG City Impact Fund, the first urban regeneration ESG fund to be launched in Italy, has secured equity commitments of about EUR400 million from cornerstone investors, including Italian institutional investors Cassa Forense (pension fund of lawyers), Inarcassa (pension fund of architects) and Cassa Commercialisti (pension fund of chartered accountants).

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

Angelo, Gordon & Co, a USD35 billion alternative investment firm focused on credit and real estate investing, has raised over USD1.5 billion in equity commitments for its most recent European real estate fund, AG Europe Realty Fund III, exceeding the Fund’s USD1.2 billion target and hitting its hard cap.

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

International real estate firm Hines is developing 664 residential units for some 1,200 residents in Berlin's district Südkreuz.

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

European logistics property specialist Verdion has commenced the speculative development of the remaining space at its ExpoPark site in Hanover, northern Germany.

M7 opens new Dublin office

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

M7 Real Estate (M7) has opened a new office in Dublin at 15-17 Percy Place and appointed James Smith as Asset Manager.

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

Sun Venture has exchanged contracts to purchase One New Oxford Street, London WC1 from Nuveen Real Estate, on behalf of Central London Office Fund (CLOF) and British Airways Pension Trustees Limited.

Thu | 9 Jul 2020, 11:24

ESG investing continues to gain momentum and prominence among global institutional investors as they increasingly look to benchmark not only the performance of funds in their portfolios but the impact they have on the world.