1. United Arab Emirates: Dubai Development May Pave Way for Legalized Gaming
A Dubai developer awarded a 4.4 billion United Arab Emirates dirham ($1.2 billion) construction contract to a Chinese contractor to build a planned 26-acre project called The Island, which could be the first destination in the region to permit legal on-site gaming.
Middle East business publication MEED reported that Dubai developer Wasl awarded the contract to Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corp. for the project, which is slated to include 1,400 hotel rooms. On its third-quarter earnings call with analysts, MGM Resorts International executives confirmed The Island would include hotels under the MGM Grand, Bellagio and Aria brands. Dubai currently allows only limited forms of online casino and sports betting.
2. UK: Hines Sells Scotland Shopping Center
National commercial development and investment companies LCP and Evolve Estates, both part of M Core, acquired a large shopping center in Scotland’s West Lothian county from global investment firm Hines.
The price paid for the 1-million-square foot property in the town of Livingston, known as The Centre with 166 tenants, was not disclosed but Hines had been seeking £70 million. Sources said LCP and Evolve paid closer to £50 million for the property, located three miles from the M8 highway and nine miles from Edinburgh Airport.
3. France: Luxury Retailer Buys Prominent Paris Building
Luxury retail group LVMH acquired a property on one of Paris’ most famous avenues, with the purchase of 150 Champs-Élysées in the city’s 8th arrondissement. Sources said the price was around €1 billion.
The 18,000-square-meter building, with its 65-meter frontage along the famed Champs-Élysées, was last acquired from Groupama Immobilier for €606 million in summer 2022 by an investment fund called Cheval Paris, managed by Mimco Asset Management and involving a consortium of investors including Canada-based Brookfield. The property includes ground-floor retail space with upper-floor offices that were recently in the process of being converted into hotel rooms, though it was not immediately known whether LVMH would continue with the conversion.
4. Germany: Avison Young Reduces Staff Amid Market Challenges
Global commercial brokerage Avison Young said it is laying off six employees in its German operations due to challenges facing the country’s real estate industry.
The Toronto-based brokerage, which employs 50 throughout Germany, cited market conditions that have recently included a nationwide drop in sales transactions and development amid high interest rates. Separately, Avison Young announced it will expand its management team as of Jan. 1, with Michael Kubik in Frankfurt and Johann Mikthof in Düsseldorf joining the company’s executive committee.
5. Canada: Economist Warns Housing Affordability Woes Could Spur Civil Unrest
An economist from one of Canada’s Big Five banks said housing affordability issues are now so acute civil unrest is a possibility.
Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said at the Real Estate Forum in Toronto that he could see protests becoming the norm. “Mortgage interest payments are rising by 31% yearly,” Tal said during a presentation. “Why do you think rent is rising? Because people cannot afford to buy, they are renting.”
6. US: Office Coworking Venture Looks To Acquire ‘Zombie Buildings’
After a WeWork bankruptcy filing among other upheaval in the flexible office space industry, one new-to-the-scene coworking operator is looking to shake up the market further with an unusual strategy: owning its real estate.
Through a partnership formed by Denver-based development firm Koelbel & Co. and a longtime coworking executive, Work Simple has ambitious plans to acquire and revitalize older office buildings in smaller and more suburban office markets across the United States. The firm is targeting buildings in secondary or tertiary markets outside the top-tier population centers such as San Antonio rather than Dallas, or Omaha instead of Chicago.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.