1. Netherlands: Hotelier Sircle Files To Take Company Public
Amsterdam-based Sircle Hospitality Group filed plans for an initial public offering of stock in this year’s second quarter, joining other international hotel companies recently going public.
SMG Holding, parent company of hotel operator Sircle, plans to list Sircle’s stock on Germany’s Frankfurt Stock Exchange with an expected stock market value of about €250 million. The move comes after IPO filings by Park Hotels and Juniper Hotels, both based in India, and precedes Sircle’s plans to expand its portfolio within Europe and enter other Mediterranean countries. Sircle operates 37 hotels with 4,000 rooms across Europe.
2. UK: US Investor Lone Star Buys Scotland Retail Center
U.S. investment firm Lone Star bought the Union Square shopping center in Aberdeen, Scotland, marking the company’s return to the United Kingdom after previously selling off its regional retail portfolio.
Investment firm Hammerson confirmed it sold Union Square, spanning 52,000 square meters, for £110 million and plans to reinvest proceeds elsewhere in its core portfolio. Analysts said the U.K. retail property market has stabilized after weathering the rise of e-commerce and further setbacks created by the pandemic.
3. Germany: Greystar Boosts Multifamily Investment in Berlin
Greystar Real Estate Partners, among the largest apartment developers in the U.S., acquired an 800-unit project under development in Berlin for about €250 million, as it ramps up its planned investments in Germany.
Developer Bauwens sold the project that is under construction in Berlin’s Neuköln district and scheduled for completion in summer 2026. Greystar is intensifying its investments in the German rental property market, previously telling Thomas Daily that it plans to invest at least €50 million to €60 million per location for projects that each have about 200 units.
4. France: Bordeaux Office Market Rebounds
France’s Bordeaux regional office market is showing signs of recovery, with the city of Gironde posting “an exceptional year” for leasing in 2023, according to David Soye, agency director for investment firm NCT.
Soye said recent leasing is enabling Gironde to “return to the podium of regional cities,” with activity ranking behind that of Lyon and Lille but ahead of others including Toulouse. Central Bordeaux cities accounted for 46% of total office leasing during the past year for the southwestern French region well known for its wine industry.
5. Canada: Country’s Largest Apartment Landlord Looks To Shrink
Canada’s largest apartment owner has plans to get smaller in 2024. Toronto-based Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, a real estate investment trust that owns about 64,300 units across Canada and the Netherlands, will keep looking for properties to sell even as it continues to buy others.
“Our newest strategy revolves around getting better instead of getting bigger,” Mark Kenney, chief executive of the REIT known as Capreit, said during a conference call with analysts. The REIT sold $408 million in property assets in Canada in 2023 but also bought $304 million in properties in the country.
6. US: Macy’s Plans To Close 150 Underperforming Stores
Iconic retailer Macy’s is mounting its second major turnaround effort in four years by planning to close about 150 namesake stores, accelerating the expansion of its luxury chains, and generating as much as $750 million from selling properties.
The New York-based store operator’s CEO, Tony Spring, unveiled the strategy during an earnings call with Wall Street analysts after taking over the retailer this month. His plan calls for focusing investment on roughly 350 stores that remain after shutting the 150, about a third of which will close this year and the rest through 2026. “We have to focus on making sure that we have the best stores, not the largest number of stores,” Spring told analysts.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.