1. South Africa: Hoteliers seek flexible sustainability rules
Certain regions of Africa can’t implement international hotel sustainability standards due to the realities of their communities, landscapes and travel destinations, according to analysts and corporate executives gathered for a hospitality summit in Cape Town, South Africa.
One problem is that aspirational requirements often are devised by international bodies, with a blanket approach to conservation that may not apply to all potential hotel development settings in Africa, where water is often scarce. “When we set the standards, we sometimes miss the reality on the ground,” said Virginia Messina, executive vice president at the World Travel & Tourism Council.
2. UK: As offices add beds, do staff need to go home at all?
Office Space in Town, the London flexible office space provider, has added beds for staff to sleep in, part of what it describes as a “new era for office life,” inevitably raising questions about work-life balance.
OSiT said its offerings are a response to increasing numbers of commuters wanting to “play late in the city and skip the morning rush hour.” The launch comes as financial technology provider Wise’s new headquarters in London, developed by HB Reavis, have opened with saunas for staff to meet in, as employers look to recruit staff with top-of-the-range amenity and luxury in offices.
3. France: Blackstone in pole position to buy prominent Paris building
Global investment giant Blackstone is reported to be the front-runner among potential buyers of the high-profile Paris Trocadéro business center in the French capital.
Sources told Business Immo that the latest winnowed-down list of potential purchasers also included Hines, Tishman Speyer and Norges Bank Investment Management, as owner Union Investment “intends to move quickly” in the planned sale of the mixed-use property. With an offer reported at just over €700 million, Blackstone was considered best positioned to acquire the complex, built in 1913 and later renovated under designs by architect Jean-Jacques Ory.
4. Germany: Goldman Sachs invests in townhouses
U.S.-based investment firm Goldman Sachs is the acquisition sponsor behind a portfolio sale involving 491 townhouses in 12 locations throughout Germany, valued at more than €200 million, according to data gathered by Thomas Daily.
Developer Deutsche Reihenhaus originally intended to sell the properties, known more commonly in Germany as terraced houses, to private end buyers, but the units acquired by Goldman Sachs are now planned to be offered as rentals. The deal reflects Goldman’s investment strategy for Germany, after the firm recently participated in a €600 million program with investors Reneo and Peakside Capital that involved sustainable residential development.
5. Canada: Housing construction may need to be doubled
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimates that getting housing affordability back to levels seen in 2019 will require that between 430,000 and 480,000 units be built annually over the next decade, double the current pace of construction.
CMHC, a Crown corporation with functions that include advising the federal government on housing policy, maintains that the homebuilding industry is capable of building more than 400,000 new units per year. “Doubling the pace of housing construction in Canada is achievable, but not without a significantly larger and modernized workforce, more private investment, less regulation, fewer delays, and lower development costs,” Aled ab Iorwerth, deputy chief economist for CMHC, said in a statement.
6. US: AI demand fuels rebound in tech office leasing
The artificial intelligence boom among cutting-edge tech companies in Silicon Valley is spreading across the country to include economic stalwarts such as Walmart, Amazon and IBM, helping to drive a surge in office leasing several years after a slowdown.
From bustling New York City to quiet Seattle suburbs, the improved leasing from the technology industry appears to be an encouraging sign for the office market after major workspace users such as Meta and Google consolidated space to cut costs. Office owners have also sought to recover from the hybrid work patterns ushered in by the pandemic that had led to tenants taking smaller spaces on average, according to industry professionals.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.