Transactions despite Corona crisis
The number and volume of sales made in European commercial real estate markets in March are low compared to previous years. But notable transactions occurred despite the Covid 19 epidemic in the UK and many other major European economies, notes Real Capital Analytics.
In view of the lockdown decided by many governments in the wake of the Corona crisis, economic life worldwide is currently characterized by stagnation in many sectors - which, as one might expect, is also affecting the real estate markets. Nevertheless, some noteworthy transactions took place in Europe in March, notes RCA Real Capital Analytics, a U.S.-based analyst firm focused on the global commercial real estate markets.
As Tom Leahy points out in RCA Insights reports, the Barclay brothers have sold London's Ritz Hotel to a member of the Qatari royal family. The deal was announced on March 27, 2020; the purchase price is rumored to be between 750 and 800 million pounds.
Leahy cites Union Investment's acquisition of joint venture partner Omers' 50% stake in Watermark Place in the City of London as another major transaction. Also in March, he says, Aviva acquired Credit du Nord's Paris office in a sale-and-leaseback deal, and Centrum in Munich's Maximilianstrasse a commercial building for a reported 250 million euros..
Among the major portfolio transactions, Leahy counts the acquisition of a stake in a Spanish and Portuguese shopping center portfolio by Allianz and Elo Mutual for 935 million euros and the sale of a portfolio of more than 2,000 residential units in England from Dandara to ECE for 400 million pounds (see IMMOBILIEN Business, April 2020 issue). (bw)
