ProLogis announced today it has signed three build-to-suit agreements in Europe, totaling approximately 389,000 square feet (36,100 square meters).

Together, these developments represent approximately $31 million of total expected investment, and approximately $8 million of land monetization, helping ProLogis meet its 2010 development goals. The company aims to achieve $700 to $800 million of global development starts and $350 to $400 million of land monetization during 2010.

The build-to-suit projects include agreements in:
Northern Germany, where ProLogis signed a third-quarter agreement to construct a 181,000-square-foot (16,800-square-meter) distribution facility for a global supplier. The building will be constructed on ProLogis-owned land at an existing ProLogis distribution park. Construction is expected to start in July 2010 and finish in December 2010.

Vienna, Austria, where ProLogis signed a third-quarter agreement to construct a 115,000-square-foot (10,700-square-meter) distribution facility for a leading third-party logistics provider. Subject to planning finalization, the building will be constructed on ProLogis-owned land at ProLogis Park Himberg, located approximately nine miles (15 kilometers) south of Vienna near the S1 Motorway. Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2010, with an expected completion date of February 2011.

Leipzig, Germany, where ProLogis signed a second-quarter agreement to construct a 93,000-square-foot (8,600-square-meter) distribution facility for a leading third-party logistics provider. Subject to planning finalization, the building will be constructed on ProLogis-owned land at ProLogis Park Leipzig, located along the A14 motorway two miles north of the city of Leipzig. Construction is scheduled to start this summer, and will be completed in early 2011.

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The Supervisory Board of Commerzbank AG just appointed Dr. Frank Henes, aged 46, Member of the Management Board of Commerz Real AG. He will take charge of Risk Management and Information Technology functions as at 1 September 2010. Dr. Frank Henes succeeds Roland Potthast, aged 48, to this office, as Potthast will leave Commerz Real AG subject to mutual consensus after a career of more than twenty years with Commerzbank Group.

Dr. Frank Henes brings a vast range of experience in the real estate and financing area to the job. Following his doctorate in business administration, he was with HypoVereinsbank Group for 15 years, working in the client business and central lending areas. At the moment, he continues to head the Real Estate Structured Finance area in which HypoVereinsbank has pooled the complex real estate financing business for clients of all of the bank’s divisions. Previously, Dr. Frank Henes was responsible for the structured financing business and development loans for small and medium-sized enterprise clients and commercial real estate clients. On top of that, he has been a member of the senior credit committee of HypoVereinsbank AG.

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Property investors in Europe are increasingly recognising that sustainability makes financial sense. Sustainable buildings are therefore likely to account for a much higher proportion of professional European investment portfolios in the medium term. As well as developing new green buildings, refurbishing existing buildings with a strong focus on sustainability is an emerging trend. Those are among the findings of Union Investment in its “Property Investment in Europe” study, which was conducted by market research institute Ipsos and involved a representative sample of 185 decision makers at property companies and institutional investment companies in Germany, France and the UK.

The study shows that 64% of surveyed companies have embedded sustainability criteria into their real estate investment strategy. Despite turbulence in the property investment markets caused by the financial and economic crisis, investor interest in sustainable building remains high: 62% of investors plan to invest significantly more in green buildings in future. French investors in particular are extremely committed in this area. 55% of all respondents intend to invest in developing new green buildings over the next twelve months, while 52% expect to update or refurbish existing holdings soon along sustainable lines. It is telling that some 50% of investors surveyed consider sustainable real estate investment to be part of corporate social responsibility. This view is especially pronounced among UK investors, at nearly 60%.

“Compared to the last survey, there is evidence that investors are now more aware of the economic opportunities associated with sustainable building,” says Dr. Reinhard Kutscher, chairman of the management board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. 54% of participating property investors agree that users and investors benefit equally from sustainable buildings. In autumn 2009, just 46% of investors saw sustainability as a win-win situation.

The survey findings also suggest that things are gradually improving on the supply side, at least as far as investor perception is concerned. Just under 40% of investors are of the opinion that a market for green buildings has emerged in their country. The reference figure from the last survey was 26%. On the user side, only 33% of European investors see broad-based demand for space in sustainable properties, with the figure being boosted by widespread agreement on the part of French investors (45%). In France, the study noted a particularly strong focus on business aspects of sustainability; the potential of sustainable buildings to form a separate asset class in future was also rated more highly than elsewhere.

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With the acquisition of the majority interest in Rimex Group as at July 1, Strabag Property and Facility Services (Strabag PFS) GmbH continues on its growth course, expanding its service spectrum to include in-house services in the infrastructural facility management segment. Rimex specialises in services in the cleaning and landscaping area. With a staff of about 2.000 employees, Rimex realised a turnover of about 27 million Euros in 2009.

"The acquisition of Rimex serves two functions at once," said Dr. Ludwig Steinbauer, CEO of Strabag PFS. "On the one hand, it enables us to offer, in addition to managing these services, infrastructural facility management services by in-house effort. This will enhance our supply chain. On the other hand, it helps us develop a new growth and yield potential, and will thus bolster our position as an integrated service provider in all property-related issues."

The previous owners will retain a 30-percent stake in the company and will continue to manage the company.

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Investec Property Investments, a division of specialist bank and asset manager Investec, announces the appointment of Crispin Gandy. Crispin will be responsible for sourcing property acquisitions in the UK and Ireland and he will be an important part of the team responsible for growing Investec Property’s footprint in these markets.

Crispin has over 13 years of experience within the investment arena and joins from Exemplar Properties where, as Partner and Head of Investment, he was responsible for UK investment transactions and asset management.

Prior to joining Exemplar, Crispin held positions at the CIT Group and Schroders, sourcing and acquiring transactions across the entire UK real estate spectrum. Crispin has also worked as an Associate Partner within the Investment Agency division of Knight Frank.

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Jones Lang LaSalle has made two new appointments in its Shopping Centre Management team based in Manchester.

Carol Stollery, who has over 20 years’ experience in commercial property, has joined as an Associate Director from Workman LLP. In her new role Carol has responsibility for the day-to-day management of six shopping centres in the North West including the Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton and the Grange and Pyramids Shopping Centre in Birkenhead.

Diane Lyons has also joined the team as a Surveying Executive. Diane has extensive property experience having worked for CIS Limited for 14 years, as head of its Management Information Section, and the last three years in private practice.

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Henderson Global Investors, on behalf of two funds for its German joint venture Warburg – Henderson, has acquired the freehold interest in N1 Islington, a prime central London shopping centre, from the Metro Fund, for circa £112 million. The price reflects an initial yield of around 5.40%.

The centre was completed in 2002 and comprises 150,000 sq ft of modern commercial space built over four floors together with a 100 space car park.

The centre is located in the wealthy catchment of Islington and has approximately 10 million visitors per annum. Anchored by Vue Cinema and H&M which is due to open in late summer 2010, the scheme has a strong retailer line up which includes Gap, Next, French Connection and HMV.

The centre has a significant leisure offer dominated by a 9-screen Vue Cinema and the O2 Academy, Islington’s live music venue. It also has an excellent catering offer at first floor with operators such as Wagamama and Yo Sushi which help maintain foot fall at quieter times.

Warburg-Henderson was advised by CB Richard Ellis and the Metro Fund was advised by Cushman & Wakefield.

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Total direct real estate investment across Europe totalled €21.4bn in Q2 2010, an 11% increase on the €19.3bn recorded in Q1 2010, continuing the growth in the market since its low point in early 2009, reports DTZ, in its Q2 2010 European Investment Market Update, issued today.

Commenting on the figures, Magali Marton, Head of DTZ CEMEA Research said: “The recovery in volumes across Europe remains uneven. Over the quarter, of Europe’s major markets, the UK posted a 29% increase in volumes to €7.9bn, with France registering a 23% increase to €2.2bn. In contrast volumes in Germany slipped 19% to €3.8bn.”

Private property vehicles, including third party fund managers remained the dominant buyers over the quarter, with purchases totalling €10.1bn. Institutional investors were increasingly active with €2.9bn of purchases, while listed property companies accounted for a further €2.5bn of acquisitions.

Activity from inter-regional investors increased this quarter, accounting for 19% of acquisitions. Only Asian and Middle Eastern investors were net buyers over the quarter at €1.5 and €1.1bn respectively, reflective of a number of high profiles deals over the period. In contrast European investors were the net sellers by €1.6bn, primarily driven by UK investors who sold a net €1.5bn predominantly in the UK.

Magali Marton concluded: “Uncertainty over the recovery in Europe’s economies poses a downside risk to the recovery. This combined with planned legislative changes to German Open Ended Funds, means that we have seen a reduction in net flows to open ended funds which could hold back significant new investment in the short term. On a more positive note however, overall demand remains strong and the weakness of the Pound and the Euro against the dollar make Europe’s real estate markets attractive to overseas investors, with investment flows from the Middle East and Asia likely to persist.”

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Immofinanz Group announces a new appointment in the group: Clemens Eisinger, 28, recently assumed the responsibility for Investor Relations in addition to his function as Head of Corporate Finance.

In the scope of reorganisation measures following the merger of Immofinanz AG and Immoeast AG, the Corporate Finance and Investor Relations departments were combined. Clemens Eisinger, working for Immofinanz Group since 2006, will not only continue his work as Head of Corporate Finance, but also assumes responsibility for Investor Relations. With his long history in the company, Eisinger can offer comprehensive knowledge on the restructuring process and a great analytic competence.

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Michal Stieber (28) joins Industrial department of Colliers International after 3,5 years spent in Czech governmental agency CzechInvest. During his career in CzechInvest, he proceeded from a Project Manager to Director of the Investment Project Management department. He advised with allocation of investments to a variety of recognized clients, mostly from branches of the automotive and electronics industries. Companies such as Panasonic, Honeywell, Denso, Toyoda Gosei and Daikin rank among his key accounts.

Michal Stieber graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Public Administration of the University of Economics in Prague. During his studies, Michal began his career with Nestlé Czech Republic. Currently, he is completing his MBA program at the Prague branch of Chapman University.

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