Spanish real estate investment trust Azora received a sizeable investment from an unnamed sovereign wealth fund, which comes close to doubling the value of its third stated fund to €500 million ($562 million) from €270 million as it looks to expand its Southern European hotel portfolio.

A statement from Madrid-headquartered Azora said the capital injection has allowed it to launch a multipronged European strategy “with an investment horizon of between five to 10 years.” The REIT now has “the flexibility to consider investments of all risk levels from development to those requiring lower levels of repositioning, as well as opportunities arising out of the uncertain current market environment.”

Hotel News Now>>

City planners recommended approval of plans by developers Schroder Real Estate and Stanhope to build what would be London’s second-tallest office building, ahead of a key government committee meeting.

Developers have proposed demolishing an existing property and replacing it with a two-section tower spanning 63 stories — or 285 meters at its taller point — and 22 stories in the shorter portion, with plans including office, retail and community space. The expected consent comes as CoStar data shows this year is set to be the biggest for new office completions in London since 2003.

CoStar News>>

French real estate investment trust Klépierre is said to be in prime position to acquire the high-profile O’Parinor shopping center in suburban Paris, which has been put up for sale for the third time by investment firm Hammerson and the Korean pension fund NPS.

Klépierre has put forward a bid of €210 million to €225 million, higher than other bids received to date for the 120,000-square-meter property, sources told Business Immo and CoStar News. O’Parinor, whose current annual rental income is estimated at €23 million, has 210 tenants including retailers Primark and Carrefour and a 14-screen UGC movie theater, and is due to add France’s first location of the Atacadão Brazilian warehouse chain.

Business Immo>>

Brokers cited a lack of building space, particularly on the new-construction side, as a key factor in Germany’s widespread decline in industrial and logistics leasing, which fell by more than 50% from year-earlier levels in the first half of 2023.

BNP Paribas Real Estate estimated first-half leasing totaled about 2.9 million square meters nationwide, with CBRE’s estimate coming in at around 2.1 million square meters as brokers also cited falling demand from the retail sector amid other economic weakening. Analysts said some top logistics regions bucked the trend, with leasing rising in cities including Leipzig, Munich and Düsseldorf.

Thomas Daily>>

In a spot where Montreal’s tallest downtown buildings stretch to the clouds, a developer created what could be the smallest residential rental structures the city has seen, and a localized answer to an affordable-housing problem spanning most of North America.

Real estate developer Groupe Forum transformed a half-dozen brick structures that long served as backdoor sheds and staircases into compact three-floor apartments totaling 350 square feet. Rents are $2,300 per month furnished, with internet included.

CoStar News>>

Results from a new research project show wood buildings not only can help developers reduce their carbon footprints, but may also fare just as well as traditional construction in earthquakes.

An experiment started a few months ago at the University of California, San Diego involving more than 40 corporate and academic professionals indicates high-rise timber buildings are able to resist violent shaking. Tests on a 10-story timber structure, called TallWood, built for the project on the campus so far find a greater degree of earthquake resistance than expected.

CoStar News>>

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