1. Macau: Resort operator acquires former hotel casino space
Hotel-casino operator SJM Resorts has agreed to acquire about 81,000 square feet of former gaming space within Macau’s Lisboa Hotel for about $68 million, with plans to convert it back into casino space.
Plans call for the space to be integrated back into the hotel, which is connected to the sibling property Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau, with an ongoing renovation seeking to meet rising demand in the self-governed special administrative region of China. SJM Holdings previously announced it acquired approximately 213,000 square feet of office space over 12 floors in Hengqin, China, which has the only land crossing between Macau and mainland China.
2. UK: Avison Young regional president steps down
Avison Young’s United Kingdom regional president and principal, Nick Walkley, has left the firm to “pursue other interests,” the real estate services firm confirmed. The company did not immediately elaborate on circumstances.
A company statement said regional chair and chief executive Mark Rose and chief operating officer Martin Dockrill will lead the U.K. business until Walkley’s successor is “appointed in due course.” Walkley joined Avison Young as principal and president of U.K. strategic advisory in 2021, after serving as CEO of Homes England for four years. He stepped up to his current role in June 2022.
3. France: CBRE names new regional CEO
CBRE France named Raphael Brault to become its next chairman and chief executive, effective Jan. 1. The real estate services firm said Brault will succeed Fabrice Allouche, who is stepping down Dec. 31 but will remain on in an advisory capacity.
Brault is currently chief investment officer for Europe and head of French operations at investment management firm AEW. He earlier spent more than 10 years at Morgan Stanley, where he headed the commercial real estate structured finance team for France, Benelux and Spain.
4. Germany: New investment fund targets logistics properties
Danish pension fund PenSam is teaming up with London-based investment management firm Vengrove to launch a special fund for light industrial and logistics properties in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, to meet rising demand.
Vengrove said it is initially investing €200 million of its own capital on behalf of PenSam. In Germany, the VRE Evergreen Logistics Partners fund will focus on properties in the metropolitan areas of the 10 largest cities, with a budget also being set aside for project development.
5. Canada: Prologis, Equinix buy land for data center projects
Canada’s largest city could get a pair of major data storage projects, after two giant American companies completed significant land acquisitions in the Toronto area. The region already leads Canada in the fast-growing property category with 86 current facilities.
Prologis, the world’s largest industrial real estate investment trust, purchased a 40-acre property for about $92 million, and recently received conditional approval to build a data storage facility on what was known as the last working farm in Mississauga. In a separate deal, global data center operator Equinix paid $94 million for a 21-acre Toronto parcel.
6. US: Southern California landlords are saying goodbye to grass
Southern California landlords, facing looming deadlines to cut water use, are swapping grass for poppies, succulents and other drought-resistant plants at office campuses and apartment complexes across the region. And they’re getting paid to do it.
The region’s Metropolitan Water District, an importer of water for the 19 million people across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, has doubled the amount of money — to at least $7 per square foot — that it will give owners of commercial buildings to swap grass for native shrubs and rock gardens.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.