The Jones Lang LaSalle European Office Index reflected a third straight quarter of negative movement, with a -0.4% fall compared to Q2 2012 and -0.5% fall compared to Q3 2011.

Among major European markets, prime office rents decreased in Madrid (-2.0%), Milan (-1.9%) and Paris (-1.9%). The decline in Paris masked rental growth recorded in the central business district.

The Jones Lang LaSalle European Office Clock, which visually represents how prime office market rental values sit within their individual rental cycle, highlights that increasingly European city markets are grouped at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock. Milan and Zurich office rents have now passed 12 o’clock, which means rents are expected to fall throughout the rest of 2012.

Leasing activity in Europe softened slightly over the quarter. Office take-up reached 2.3 million sq m in Q3, a decrease of 5% over the quarter. For almost half of the 24 European Office Index markets, Q3 was the weakest quarter of 2012. However, the forecast for full-year take-up is -10% of 2011 volumes, but still in line with the 10-year average.

Commenting on the leasing market, Dr Lee Elliot, Head of EMEA Research said “Occupiers across all of Europe are adopting a holding pattern. The current uncertainty about the economic outlook means companies are cautious and conservative on decision making. Expansion plans are on hold whilst activity is increasingly being driven by lease events.”

Vacancy ticks-down
Overall vacancy levels in Europe dropped by 20bps in the last three months, supported by on-going low levels of supply. Vacancy in Moscow reduced by 140bps and there was also by reduced vacancy rates in all German markets and Paris. London and Warsaw recorded the largest increases in vacancy, both up by 70bps.

The Budapest office market did not manage to recover from the deep freeze it entered after the crisis. The vacancy rate increased further on and became the highest in the EMEA region with 21.5%. In total, 95,590 m² office space was leased between July and September, which was in line with the previous period of 2012 but, was 14% weaker than the volume recorded in Q3 2011. Prime office rents remained unchanged at 20 €/m²/month and headline rents are also stable.

European development activity up 10% on 2011
While the latest forecast for full year 2012 development activity is an increase of 2011 volumes by 10%, this is still expected to be 30% down on the 10 year average.

Offices transactions dominate European investment volumes
During Q3 2012, office investment volumes reached €13 billion and accounted for 50% of the total amount across all sectors (offices, retail, logistics & industrial, hotels). Whilst a decrease of 14% compared to Q2 2012, the cumulative year to date volumes recorded in 2012 are 18% higher than in 2011, driven by high levels of activity in the liquid markets of London, Paris and German cities as well as the Nordics.

Prime yields have remained stable in most markets, with only four of 24 Index markets showing movements. Yields moved out in Barcelona (+25bps) as well as The Hague and Utrecht (+15bps) as investor concerns over the economic outlook were sustained, whereas yields in Paris compressed by 25bps.

Chris Staveley, Director of European Office Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle added:
“Despite a softening rental market, the capital value index increased by 0.5% over the quarter. This was driven by yield compression in Paris which was a result of ongoing investor interest in the most liquid European centres and rental growth in markets with more robust economic market conditions. Capital values will remain stable for the short-term, however, yields in peripheral European markets such as Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain may come under upward pressure as we move into 2013.”

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Commencing in 2013, Union Investment is entrusting management of its existing German properties, comprising office and commercial premises and hotels, to EPM Assetis GmbH and Strabag Property and Facility Services GmbH. The almost 150 German real estate assets involved have a total value of €4.2 billion, with each partner taking responsibility for roughly half of the portfolio. This is the largest property portfolio to be put out to tender for management for two years. Bell Management Consultants and Hogan Lovells provided support for Union Investment during the tender process, with almost ten companies bidding for the work.

"Diversified property management will offer Union Investment’s asset managers significantly greater flexibility and enable better performance benchmarking. We have divided up the property portfolio into two vertical clusters of equal value. This has been done by valuation, complexity, rental income and size of the property in square metres, rather than according to location. This approach allows us to compare the performance of our service providers overall and also at regional level,” explains Philipp La Pierre, head of the Asset Management Deutschland unit at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. “When acquiring future properties, we will also be able to decide who should take on management of the building based on the property manager’s available resources and performance at that location.”

A catalogue of sustainability services has also been added to the services provided by the property managers. This includes management of the portfolio's carbon emissions, support services relating to certification of existing properties, activities in conjunction with Union Investment's Sustainable Investment Check on existing buildings and obtaining and checking energy performance certificates.

Back in 2008, Union Investment started transferring property management of its German holdings to provider M+W Zander in order to concentrate on adding value in its core business of investment, asset management and fund management. This includes in particular letting and servicing existing tenants, transactions, plus the development and implementation of property-level strategies and managing the relationships with strategic partners. A real estate portfolio worth €4.2 billion shows just how effective the strategy of outsourcing building-related services to specialist providers has proven to be in Germany over the past five years.

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In the first nine months of the financial year 2012 Deutsche Wohnen posted a consolidated profit of € 50.8 million and, in so doing, more than doubled its profit in comparison to the previous year (€ 19.7 million). Adjusted earnings before taxes rose by around 60% to € 60.2 million (previous year: € 37.6 million). This increase is attributable on the one hand to improved earnings from Residential Property Management (+ € 17.0 million) and on the other hand to improved earnings from Disposals (+ € 7.4 million). The key earnings figure Funds from Operations (FFO, without disposals) rose by 31% in comparison to the previous year to € 52.4 million due to acquisitions and operational improvements. The intrinsic value of the company, measured as EPRA NAV, was € 11.59 per share as at the reporting date.

Foundation laid for BauBeCon integration
The integration of the BauBeCon Group (around 23,350 residential units) has started successfully. On 31 October 2012 Deutsche Wohnen concluded a termination agreement with the previous property management company, the Prelios Group. This agreement sets out the individual steps in the integration process up to 31 May 2013.

“As early as 1 November 2012 – ahead of the agreed date – we started to manage the holdings in Berlin and Eastern Germany ourselves. The remaining holdings of the BauBeCon Group will follow step by step during the coming months. This process clearly marks Deutsche Wohnen’s integration ability. As part of this integration process we will also be enlarging and strengthening our management team,” explained Michael Zahn, CEO of Deutsche Wohnen AG.

Strong operating result
The operating result (Net Operating Income, NOI) from Residential Property Management improved to € 121.8 million (previous year: € 106.2 million). The NOI margin once again improved to 74.2% of the current gross rental income. This increase in current gross rental income was accompanied by an increase in costs of just € 3.8 million, which indicates overall an improved portfolio quality with higher earnings potential. Compared with the previous year the in-place rents in the letting portfolio of the strategic core and growth regions increased on a like-for-like basis by 2.5% to 5.73 € per sqm (previous year: 5.59 € per sqm). This extremely good development is primarily due to surging rents from new lettings. Once again the vacancy rate of 1.5% in the letting portfolio of the core and growth regions as at the reporting date is below the level of the previous year (1.8%).

Earnings from Disposals increased to € 14.6 million and were thus double the figure for the equivalent reporting date in the previous year (€ 7.2 million). This is particularly attributable to privatisations, for which the sales proceeds rose from € 48.8 million to € 86.6 million because of the current favourable market conditions.

The KATHARINENHOF® Group, which operates the segment Nursing and Assisted Living, was able to increase its earnings to € 5.8 million (previous year: € 5.3 million).

Forecast for the year raised once again
After raising its forecast for the current financial year in its half-year report, Deutsche Wohnen AG is once more increasing its forecast for recurring FFO (without disposals) for 2012 to € 65 million. Funds from Operations (including disposals) are forecast to be at least € 85 million for the current financial year.

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On the advice of Realogis, a reconstruction company is leasing around 600 m² of warehouse and 100 m² of office space in Freiberg am Neckar at 13 Steinheimer Straße. This property, with direct access to the A81 motorway “Heilbronn-Stuttgart-Singen" via the B27 state road, belongs to an institutional investor and is now fully leased.

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After establishing its first studio at Schweizer Straße 25 in Frankfurt, ten-minutes is now opening a second branch in February 2013, in the Westend district on 167 m². This fitness provider specialising in Powerplate training is leasing more training space at „Im Trutz 49“ at the agency of the Brokerage division of NAI apollo group. The property is right on Grüneburgweg and offers ideal infrastructure. The private owner was advised by the property manager Blum in this leasing transaction.

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Valad Europe has sold the 16,550 m² Rathaus Centre in Monheim to Phoenix Development GmbH in conjunction with ZIAG Immobilien AG. Comprising approximately 7,800 m² of retail space and 7,800 m² of office space and 950 m² of ancillary storage space, the Rathaus Centre occupies a prime position in the centre of Monheim, opposite the central bus station, and approximately 30 km from both Cologne and Dusseldorf. The Centre provides 354 car parking places, the city’s biggest car park facility, and has potential for further development.

The Centre has a mix of national and international brands and chain stores trading alongside local and regional retailers including Deutsche Bank, Kaufpark, Deutsche Post. Rossmann Südwest GmbH and Deichmann SE. Phoenix Development intends to restructure the retail and office space to create an integrated centre.

Andreas Hardt, Valad Europe’s Head of Germany, commented: “We are pleased to have completed the trade of the Rathaus Centre. As part of Valad Europe’s active asset management approach, we regularly evaluate the performance and potential of all the assets in each of our portfolios. Having carefully considered the options for the Rathaus Centre, we decided that a sale was in the best interests of investors.”

Brockhoff & Partner Immobilien GmbH acted for Valad Europe and ZIAG Immobilien AG. International law firm Orrick Hölters & Elsing, advised both Valad Europe and ZIAG during the negotiations.

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TAG Immobilien AG had initiated a 'squeeze-out' process to eliminate minority shareholders at Bau-Verein zu Hamburg Aktien-Gesellschaft in accordance with §§ 327a ff AktG. The Annual General Meeting of Bau-Verein on 29 August 2012 ratified the squeeze-out of minority shareholders for a cash settlement of € 4.55 per share. The squeeze-out procedure was successfully concluded with the entry of this resolution in the commercial register on 9 November 2012, and Bau-Verein is now a wholly owned subsidiary of TAG Immobilien AG. Further to this procedure, Bau-Verein shares will be delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg.

Rolf Elgeti, CEO of TAG, comments: „We are pleased at the successful conclusion of the procedure. This further simplifies TAG's structure and increases transparency for our shareholders. At the same time, we save the considerable costs of listing Bau-Verein.“

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pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided a £75 million facility to Metric Income Plus Partnership (MIPP), the joint venture created in November 2011 between UK Retail REIT Metric Property Investments PLC (Metric) and pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The loan will allow MIPP to refinance assets that have already been acquired and to purchase additional properties.

MIPP targets out-of-town retail parks ranging in value between £2 and £20 million with net initial yields in excess of 7%. Added to the £75 million equity commitment of USS and Metric, pbb’s facility brings the total investment capacity of MIPP to £150 million. Since its creation, MIPP already invested approximately £75 million on a total of 8 properties.

Charles Balch, Head of Real Estate Finance International at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, commented: „Metric is a key target client for our bank. We are delighted to be able to support its strategy with USS in the UK retail sector”.

Andrew Jones, Chief Executive of Metric, commented: “This deal strengthens our relationship with pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. It also demonstrates our ability to secure a flexible senior facility in a challenging environment”.

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Nationwide take-up of logistics and light industrial premises in Germany in the first three quarters of 2012 totalled around 3.6 million m². Although that was about 23% down on the prior-year period, it is nevertheless a good or even very good result. This is revealed by a survey conducted by BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE).

“The record performance in 2011 had featured a very large number of major deals, on a scale that was unlikely to be repeated. In fact, take-up so far represents the second-best result of the past five years. So market activity can still be described as dynamic overall, with only few signs of uncertainty in connection with the ongoing crisis over the euro,” says Hans-Jürgen Hoffmann, Head of Industrial Investment & Services at BNP Paribas Real Estate. Turnover in the chief German locations (Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich) totalled 1.57 million m², slightly more than 30% lower than in the first nine months of last year. Outside these main centres, the year-on-year downturn – at around 17% – was considerably less marked, with aggregate take-up coming to 2.03 million m².

The downturn affected all the key centres. Düsseldorf suffered least, with a drop of only just under 8%, this was thanks mainly to a contract for premises of over 70,000 m² concluded by Zalando in Mönchengladbach, which forms part of the Düsseldorf market area. Relatively good performances were also registered by Berlin, with 267,000 m² (-16%), and Munich, with 191,000 m² (-26.5%). The biggest fall was that posted in Cologne, where turnover declined by 58.5% to 76,000 m². The declines in the markets in Hamburg (425,000 m²), Leipzig (139,000 m²) and Frankfurt (279,000 m²) ranged between 30% and 38%, roughly in line with the inter-city average.

Hardly any mega-deals
Unlike last year, there have been hardly any mega-deals. The only exception was the 70,000 m² Zalando contract in Mönchengladbach; this was the biggest deal recorded so far this year. However, outside the main locations, contracts for premises of over 20,000 m² represented the best-performing size class, accounting for 43% of all take-up. In contrast, in the main cities distribution by size was relatively uniform.

At the end of the third quarter, the distribution of take-up according to business sectors presented a picture similar to that evident during the earlier part of the year, with turnover still spread fairly evenly between the three main sources of demand. With a share of just under 38%, logistics firms remain in first place. Then, more or less equal, come industrial and manu­facturing companies (28.5%) and wholesale/retail (just over 27%).

All the other sectors play only a subordinate role. This stable and balanced distribution of demand is one significant reason for the very good result, which stands up well to long-term comparison. Although some sectors may be suffering the negative repercussions of the euro crisis and the current eco­nomic slowdown, the impact is offset to a certain extent by other branches of the economy. Something similar holds true in wholesale/retail, where new trends, e.g. e-commerce, are generating additional demand and at least in part compensating for the general stagnation in consumer expenditure. So the signs suggest that demand in the fourth quarter will remain lively.

Top rents stable
In spite of the combination of strong demand and a reduced supply of modern logistics premises, top rents have done no more than to go on firming up at their previous level. There are two reasons for this. For a start, top rents have now reached a reasonable level by long-term standards; secondly, tenants are showing only very limited readiness to accept higher rental prices, with the still evident uneasiness regarding the future of the euro playing an important role in this connection.

The rental price ranking is again headed by Frankfurt and Munich, both of which have top rents of 6.20 €/m². Then come Hamburg, with 5.60 €/m², Düsseldorf, with 5.10 €/m², Cologne, with 4.80 €/m², and Berlin, with 4.70 €/m². At the bottom of the scale, as before, are the Leipzig market area, with a top rent of 4.25 €/m², and the Ruhr Region, with 4.20 €/m². However, the shortage of space is prompting a trend towards lowering the extent of incentives, so that the average effective rents now being obtained actually reveal a modest upward tendency.

Outlook
“Demand during the rest of this year looks set to remain at the level registered in the first nine months. So up to now the effects of the weakening economy have been held in check and are reflected primarily by longer periods of negotiation over new lease contracts. Whether or not the anticipated decline in economic growth will result in a fall in turnover in the first half of 2013, in particular in the rental markets, remains to be seen. At any rate, though, with the economy still generally stable, there are no indications that any marked slumps are likely,” says Hans-Jürgen Hoffmann.

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Henderson Global Investor’s c. £12.3 billion Property Business has agreed a 15 year lease with Gourmet Burger Kitchen for its N1 Shopping Centre in Islington, London. GBK has taken a 2,150 sq ft unit in the shopping centre. The unit is located in the midst of the food and beverage offer, next to Wagamama and adjacent to Vue Cinema on the first floor. The unit will be fitted out in GBK’s newly launched brand and store design.

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Jardine Lloyd Thompson, the international group of risk specialists and employee benefits consultants, announces that it will be moving its global headquarters and London based business operations to The St Botolph Building, EC3. JLT has exchanged contracts with Minerva on a 25 year lease for a total of 287,000 sq ft of space on the third to ninth floors. A phased move of all JLT's London-based employees from current premises on Crutched Friars, America Square, Fenchurch Street and Seething Lane to the new premises will start in July 2013, overseen by Mike Methley, COO, JLT. Jones Lang LaSalle advised Minerva on the letting whilst JLT were represented by CBRE.

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Orchard Street Investment Management LLP announces that it has purchased 8/10 Old Jewry from European Property Fund PLC for £40.02 million. The acquisition was made on behalf of the St James Place funds.

8/10 Old Jewry is a prime office investment in the core EC2 area of the City, close to the Bank of England. The building also has a separately accessed and popular Brown’s restaurant at ground and mezzanine levels. The offices are top class standard and let on a long lease to Argyle Investment Finance at a market level of rent.

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Bristol businesses would benefit if more parking was created close to shops and workplaces, according to a national lobbying group that is putting up a £1,000 prize for an innovative solution to the city’s parking problems. Bristol branch of the Federation of Small Businesses has launched the “Are You The New Brunel?” competition looking for innovative solutions to the city’s transport difficulties. A prize of £5,000 will be presented to the best idea chosen by a panel of judges.

National organisation – the Association of British Drivers is backing the competition with a further £1,000 prize for the best idea to improve parking facilities.

Brian MacDowall of The Association of British Drivers said: “Businesses need customers to be able to park as close as possible and we need the public and local authorities working together to find innovative ways of doing this.

“Bristol has some wonderful shops on roads into the city but it has been made very difficult for people to stop their cars and use them. Maybe parking could be created behind shops, yellow lines could be reviewed or underground parking created.

“We hope that this competition will come forward with some practical solutions as well as getting people thinking about the problem and how it can be solved.”

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Whole Foods Market has opened its latest store at Gibraltar Limited Partnership’s Gallagher Retail Park in Cheltenham. The store is the first Whole Foods Market on a retail park and only the second to open outside of London. The 27,000 sq ft store was opened with Whole Foods Market’s customary ‘bread breaking’ ceremony in place of a traditional ribbon-cutting and was attended by local dignitaries, as well as members of the local community and those involved in the development of the store.

The new store includes a café, an outdoor seating area, a bakery, a full service butchery counter as well as a ‘Health & Beauty department which offers natural health remedies and beauty products. The store will also be the first to include a cookery school, where regular cookery demonstrations and tastings will be held.

Dan Clark, Senior Asset Manager for British Land, said: “We are very pleased that Whole Foods Market selected Gallagher Retail Park for its first retail park store, and it is great to see it open and trading. We believe that the Whole Foods Market concept will strike a chord with the local catchment and the supermarket will become one of the main draws at the park.”

The opening follows Next’s recent extension and refurbishment of its store on the park. Gibraltar Limited Partnership is a joint venture between Hercules Unit Trust (HUT) and The Crown Estate. HUT is advised by British Land and managed by Schroders.

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As part of its commitment to the Healthcare sector, Colliers International has implemented a long term succession strategy which will see Adam Lenton take over as Head of Healthcare on 1 January 2013. Current Head Jeremy Tasker will continue to represent the EMEA region on the Colliers International Healthcare Steering Committee as well as expanding his work with new and existing corporate clients from around the world to develop new markets and opportunities by becoming Managing Director of Special Projects.

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BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE) and Collingwood Rigby, on behalf of Friends Life Company Ltd, a fund managed by AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, have sold the freehold interest of Solar Park, Solihull to Ignis UK Property Fund for £22,700,000, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.59%. GVA acted for Ignis.

Solar Park comprises a prime multi let industrial estate totalling c. 285,000 sq ft, fully let to seven tenants, currently producing £1,823,140 per annum.

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Robert Bosch AG is letting the entire floor space of the Silbermöwe office building on the Lände 3 site for a period of at least 10 years. Landlord is CA Immo. The volume of 21,500 m² makes this the largest new letting on the Vienna office market for 2012 so far.

According to Dr. Bruno Ettenauer, Chief Executive Officer of CA Immo, “Attracting a high quality tenant such as Bosch amounts to another major boost for the Lände 3 site. We leased around 30,000 m² to Österreichische Post AG at the end of 2010, and this new agreement represents the biggest new letting for this year in the urban district Lände 3 so far. Overall, the project has shown how an intelligent and properly thought out programme of refurbishment can create modern premises from existing buildings. Inner city sites are upgraded and revitalised as a result.”

The Silbermöwe office building: green refurbishment
Extensive renovation work on the Silbermöwe office building, which stands around 40 metres high, began in summer 2011. Stringent sustainability criteria were observed in the core refurbishment of the building; a certification from the Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate (ÖGNI) is in preparation.

The building is a ten-storey high-rise that will be enclosed by a seven-level U-shaped structure; in addition to full renovation of the interior, the facades of both structures were completely refurbished. Various construction measures have cut the energy requirement of the fully renovated building by 50-60 % and reduced carbon emissions by 280 tons per year. A solar power installation on the roof, for example, will supply most of the power required by the building equipment; meanwhile an energy-efficient aluminium and glass facade and a chilled ceiling system combined with radiators will maximise energy efficiency.

The city district Lände 3: centrally located office, residential, hotel and retail units Lände 3 is an extensive development and restoration initiative on Erdberger Lände in the Landstrasse area of Vienna. The aim of the urban project, which will be realised in several stages, is to establish a future-proof mix of office, residential, hotel and retail usages. Advantages of the construction site, which spans 5.5 hectares, include rentable effective area currently totalling some 80,000 m², excellent transport connection (connections to the U3 underground line and airport link motorway), proximity to the city centre and a location close to the Donaukanal and Wiener Prater recreation areas. Several reputable tenants have already decided to take up residence in the Lände 3 site, including Österreichische Post AG, Siemens Enterprise Communications and the catering business Sim & More.

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Colliers International announces the appointment of Marta Machus-Burek as Director of Development Advisory Services in Colliers office in Warsaw.

Marta will cooperate closely with John Banka, head of DAS and Partner at Colliers International
and will focus on providing retail planning and development strategies for shopping centers owners, developers and investors.

Marta has 16 years of retail asset management, consulting, leasing and marketing experience in Poland. Previously she worked as a member of the board in Donaldsons Polska (later acquired by DTZ) and later established and co-managed retail consultancy Astaris Property Solutions.

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Multi Development Poland signed with LPP S.A. the Lease Agreements for six premises with a total surface of over 4,200 m² in downtown shopping center, Forum Radunia in Gdańsk. LPP S.A. chose Multi’s Forum Radunia project for its flagship store - Reserved, with an area of over 2,200 m². LPP will also open Cropp Town (420 m²), House (426 m²), Mohito (432 m²), Sinsay (318 m²) which is the newest brand in the LPP portfolio and finally a Home&You shop (472 m²), a brand belonging to LPP TEX S.A., offering a collection for interior decoration.

LPP Group is a company with a tradition over 15-years, located in Gdańsk. The company has been listed on the stock exchange in Warsaw since 2001. The Group has more than 1000 shops located in 12 European countries.

Forum Radunia with 60,000 m² of retail space is a multifunctional urban complex connected with revitalization of the historical Hay and Crayfish Market area. The project will create a new heart in the centre of Gdańsk con solidating retail, entertainment, culture, services and offices as well as a car pa rk for the public. A crucial part of the whole investment is also to accomplish the public objectives such as: construction of Gdańsk Historic Heritage Museum Building, development and modernization of technical and road infrastructure and cons truction of Nowe Podwale Grodzkie street. By creating a direct access to the Integration Hub that brings together the new bus and tram stops as well as the new railway stop of Gdańsk Śródmieście, the project will be directly linked to t he largest public transport hub in the region. Completion of construction is planned for 2015/2016.

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The grand opening ceremony of Outlet Park Szczecin was held on the 7th November 2012. Outlet Park Szczecin, owned by Echo Investment, is the first outlet centre in the West Pomerania region. The total area of the Property is 30,200 m². Outlet Park Szczecin offers 24,200 m² of GLA, approximately 130 stores and 1,400 parking places. Echo Investment is one of the largest investment and developer companies with Polish capital in Europe. CBRE was responsible for the commercialization of Outlet Park Szczecin.

The anchor tenants are: Helios, operator of a 7-screen cinema [we reported], Piotr & Paweł supermarket, Smyk Mega Store and approx. 110 stores of famous Polish and international brands such like Nike [we reported], Puma, Reebok, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Reserved, Bytom, Kari, Lee Wrangler, Wittchen, Kazar, Vero Moda, Jack & Jones, Via Roma, Cross Jeans, Atlantic, Lavard, Ecco, Big Star, 4F, Ochnik, Mc Arthur, Wójcik, Lancerto, Gabor, Puere, Milano Shoes, Willsoor, Lee Cooper, Cropp, House, Coccodrillo, Dajar, Levi’s, Quiosque, Soul, Vesari, Magra, Gatta, Alberto Violi and many more.

‘We are delighted with the opening of our investment in Szczecin. Outlet Park Szczecin is a modern project that continues our operations in the capital of the West Pomerania region. Our company in Szczecin has developed the investment projects that have become a part of the city landscape. There is the Galaxy - retail and leisure center, Oxygen – modern office building, Ibis and Novotel hotels, as well as the residential project - Za Portowa Brama. In Szczecin we finalized the projects from all sectors covered by our company, which proves that this city has been developing perfectly and is an attractive location to invest in.’ – said Piotr Gromniak, President of Echo Investment SA.

‘We are delighted with the opening of Outlet Park Szczecin and with our fruitful cooperation with Echo Investment. We have gained prestigious tenants and negotiated attractive lease terms for both sides. Outlet Park Szczecin is now 95% occupied and we believe that it will attract many clients. The presence of many famous brands offering discounts up to 70%, an excellent food court and the cinema will highlight Outlet Park Szczecin on the map of Szczecin and the West Pomerania region as a new place for shopping and social gathering.’ - said Malgorzata Geca, Senior Property Negotiator in the Retail Team at CBRE.

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A syndicate of four banks acting as coarrangers and lead by pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has jointly underwritten a € 287 million senior debt facility for Locafimo, a subsidiary of Société de la Tour Eiffel. The facility will be used to refinance business parks and offices across France. The transaction was closed on 14 November 2012.

The refinancing facility is jointly underwritten by CFF (Crédit Foncier de France), Société Générale, CACIB (Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank) and pbb. pbb is also acting as agent of this transaction. The refinanced portfolio consists of 20 properties spread across France: 11 business parks, 6 office buildings and 3 retail assets with a GLA of approx. 285.000 m².

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Average vacancy rate for Bucharest remained stable in the third quarter of 2012, but differences registered between sub-market rates illustrate that competition between office buildings located in central and semi-central areas will increase in the following period. Colliers International in Romania recently published quarterly market update.

The available stock analysis reveals a constant vacancy rate in the last three months, at approx. 17.5%. The actual vacancy rate is 1-2% higher due to the spaces available for sublease.

The vacancy examination conducted per sub-market illustrates significant differences between vacancy rates, from 3% in Floreasca to more than 50% in Pipera. While for the Semi-Center and the Peripheral areas there were slight increases, the vacancy rate in the CBD went down as a direct consequence of the increased number of transactions in this area, 30% of the net take-up being in offices located in CBD. The available space in Victoriei – Charles de Gaulle represents 23% of the entire office stock in the area.

In addition to the study’s findings, Viorel Opait, Corporate Services Director of Colliers International in Romania, states: “In the following period, competition will intensify in Floreasca – Barbu Vacarescu area, as the projects commenced during the summer will start or started the pre-leasing process. Most of these developments are scheduled for delivery in 2013 – 2015, at a time when the contracts of most of companies in the area will come to completion.”

At the end of September 2012, total Class A office stock in Bucharest reached 1,540,000 m². New office supply totalled 20,000 m², comprised in the first construction phase of AFI Business Park and two small buildings (Aviatorilor 47 and Monolit Square).

Tenants who signed spaces in Q3 2012 obtained slightly lower effective rates, as the owners were keen on to offer incentives in order to maintain the headline rents stable.

The entire leasing activity in the third quarter of 2012 accounted for 35,000 m², out of which around 28,000 m² represent net take-up. This is translated into a nine month net take-up of approx. 93,000 m² and a pre-leasing activity that generated 40% of these.

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