South African debt fund manager Vantage Capital has exited its financial involvement with Egypt-based Pickalbatros Hotels & Resorts after being repaid for $18.4 million in debt assistance to the hotelier during the pandemic.

A company statement said Johannesburg-based Vantage provided a mezzanine loan in December 2020 to cover the hotelier’s working capital requirements and renovation expenses at a time when Egyptian tourism had dropped sharply. Tourism has since recovered and Vantage was repaid “in an orderly manner” without taking ownership stakes in Pickalbatros, which operates 28 properties in Egypt.

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Rachel Reeves has delivered the first United Kingdom Budget from a female Chancellor of the Exchequer and the first for the new Labour government, saying the only way to drive economic growth is to “invest, invest, invest.”

The property industry has responded to a series of major changes in key areas such as business rates and housebuilding, as well as promises to unlock major investment in development and infrastructure via reforms of planning procedures and pensions investment. Will Matthews, head of commercial research at brokerage Knight Frank, said the “momentous” Budget could have major impacts on commercial property.

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American investment bank Evercore signed a large Paris office lease, among signs of a rebound in demand for the city’s central business district as rents continued to rise in the third quarter.

Evercore signed a lease for about 1,600 square meters at a building under renovation by owner Trustone REIM that is also the former headquarters of private bank Neuflize. Brokers said the rent price, at about €1,200 per square meter, could become a new prime standard for buildings in the neighborhood.

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Consulting firm FAP Group, which handles real estate financing in Germany, has received a mandate from a United States investor to provide real estate whole loans totaling about €1 billion for properties in the country.

Sources said Fortress Investment Group, based in New York, plans to offer loans ranging from €30 million to €300 million as it seeks to cover property categories deemed too risky for banks with loan-to-value ratios of up to 80%. This includes new project development and refinancing of existing properties, at a time when some types of financing have become difficult to obtain in Germany.

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Canada’s federal competition watchdog is inviting market participants to provide input about property controls in the country’s grocery industry as part of an ongoing investigation into Sobeys and Loblaw.

The Competition Bureau said it is examining whether restrictions imposed by grocery retailers are impacting competition and has promised to keep submitted information confidential. “Property controls may shield grocery stores from competition by preventing businesses from opening a retail food store or limiting the products competitors can sell,” the bureau said in a statement, noting consumers could also face lower quality of items and higher prices.

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Stability is the name of the game when it comes to the priorities of real estate investors heading into 2025, with attention turning to the nation’s Sun Belt as markets across the southeast maintain their post-pandemic expansion streak.

Dallas won the leading spot as the most promising market for North America property and investor demand in 2025, positioning it at the top of the lineup in the latest “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report that consulting firm PwC produces for nonprofit real estate research and policy organization Urban Land Institute. Since the onset of the pandemic, markets in states such as Texas, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia have dominated the annual rankings.

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This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.