Foreign investors behind record 82% of London property activity

July 17, 2013 5:30 pm
Foreign investors behind record 82% of London property activity
By Ed Hammond, Property Correspondent

The attraction of London property to foreign investors shows no signs of waning as a surge of Asian and Middle Eastern money ensured that UK buyers accounted for less than a fifth of all commercial purchases during the first half of the year.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dcc2032a-eed3-11e2-98dd-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2d4ppweSX

Cornerstone plans property debt fund

Cornerstone plans property debt fund
Sarah Krouse
15 Jul 2013

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual that entered the UK real estate debt market in 2012, plans to raise third-party capital for further investments in the sector next year.

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2013-07-15/cornerstone-real-estate-plans-uk-property-debt-fund?ea9c8a2de0ee111045601ab04d673622

AllianceBernstein's Real Estate Group Expands Platform with New Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund

AllianceBernstein's Real Estate Group Expands Platform with New Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund
Industry Veteran Roger Cozzi Joins Firm to Lead CRE Debt Group

NEW YORK, July 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein L.P. (AllianceBernstein) announced today that it has successfully launched its first commercial real estate debt fund (the "Fund") as part of the firm's ongoing efforts to broaden its alternative investment offerings.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alliancebernsteins-real-estate-group-expands-platform-with-new-commercial-real-estate-debt-fund-215282911.html

News analysis: Backing the debt fund to win

Real Estate News
News analysis: Backing the debt fund to win
12 July 2013

Opinion is divided over the potential for real estate debt funds becoming an established institutional asset class in Europe, writes Richard Lowe.

EUROPE – Real estate investment managers continue to bet on the prospects for real estate debt funds despite some scepticism over whether they really constitute a viable business plan.

http://www.ipe.com/realestate/news-analysis-backing-the-debt-fund-to-win_54354.php

2013 | Q2 San Francisco Office Report

http://www.colliers.com/en-us/sanfrancisco/insights

2013 | Q2 San Francisco Office Report >>

Shaking off a sluggish first quarter the San Francisco Bay Area finished off the first half of 2013 with healthy leasing and rent growth. San Francisco remains ahead of the burgeoning global economy as job growth and leading-edge productivity due to technology have benefitted the office market. The second quarter registered the twelfth consecutive quarter of positive net absorption ,and vacancy is now below the 10 percent "tipping point" citywide for the first time since 2007. Moreover, the rise of the city’s employment and leasing volume over the last 24 months have pushed forward the construction of 3.4 million square feet of new and rehabilitated office development, with anticipation of additional projects breaking ground.

http://www.colliers.com/en-us/sanfrancisco/insights

Eco Analysis - Mixed UK data but Q2 still looks strong (B. Hilliard)

Eco Analysis - Mixed UK data but Q2 still looks strong (B. Hilliard)

The UK data released today show the housing market revving up in response to the government's Help to Buy scheme. UK manufacturing output surprised with a sharp fall but Q2 GDP still looks on track for a strong gain of around 0.5% qoq.

Enter Sandman?

Enter Sandman?

Julia Coronado - Market Economics
US Daily Spotlight | 09 Jul 2013 00:06 |

Markets settled down a little on Monday with Treasuries yields retracing nearly half their Friday spike and equities posting another modest gain closing just under 2% below their peak on May 21, the day before Chairman Bernanke effectively endorsed tapering. With little data to digest investors are looking to a series of bond auctions and a speech from Chairman Bernanke on Wednesday afternoon to set the tone. Bernanke will speak at a conference sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) titled “The First 100 Years of the Federal Reserve: The Policy Record, Lessons Learned, and Prospects for the Future”. There is no title listed on the conference agenda but Chairman Bernanke closes the conference after four academic papers on political influences on Fed policy, international influences, appropriate design of a central bank, and the Fed’s track record on regulation. The lunch will feature a talk by Paul Volcker moderated by Martin Feldstein. The Federal Reserve Board has confirmed there will be a prepared text for the Chairman’s talk and he will take audience questions.

Germany: Only a small minus for manufacturing in May

Economic Briefing
Germany: Only a small minus for manufacturing in May

In May, German industry cut production by 1% on the previous month. But since output had increased significantly in the two preceding months, the average over April and May was nearly 3% up on the first quarter, which leads us to expect a very large gain in GDP. However, this momentum is unlikely to continue in the third quarter.

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets
Economic Research
https://research.commerzbank.com

British Land Invests £470 million in Paddington Central

British Land Invests £470 million in Paddington Central
Attractive West End Estate with Development Potential

British Land is pleased to announce that it has acquired assets comprising the majority of Paddington Central, a 1.2 million sq ft office-led, mixed use estate close to Paddington station in London’s West End. The investment offers an attractive blend of income and capital return, with major development potential and significant future opportunity to improve the estate through asset management. On completion of the developments, British Land will own 1.0 million sq ft of a 1.6 million sq ft estate.

http://www.britishland.com/media/news/2013/05-07-2013.aspx

Greed, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (1987)

Lunch? Lunch is for wimps.

- Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (1987)