Top Stories 

Indiabulls Group inks pact with Doha Bank: reports

Indiabulls Group has reportedly entered into agreement with Qatar's Doha Bank for offering mortgage loans to NRI customers for acquiring properties in India.

The tie-up with Indiabulls will provide an opportunity to Doha Bank NRI customers to approach for Housing Loans to purchase property in India, according to reports.

Britannia plans to sell real estate land in Bangalore: reports

Britannia Industries is planning to close a deal to sell its six-acre prime real estate land in Bangalore for about Rs 5.50bn by the year-end, according to reports.

Reports says that the land has been on the block since December 2011, after Britannia confirmed that it is exploring options to monetise this asset.

Many property developers and few other corporate houses have looked at how this prime land can be leveraged, reports said.

Sobha Developers achieves milestone in new space sale: reports

Sobha Developers reportedly said that it has achieved a record milestone in the history of the company in terms of new space sale.

The company has sold over 0.95 million square feet of new space valued at Rs. 5.27bn at an average price realization of Rs. 5, 575 per square feet for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, according to reports.

The company had set a guidance of new space sales of 3.75 million square feet valued at Rs. 20bn for FY 13.

There are reports that the company has already registered a sales of around 1.78 million square feet at a value of around Rs. 10.07bn.

Focus Stories

AIG's arm serves notice on RMZ Corp: reports

The Indian arm of AIG's global real-estate business has served legal notice on  RMZ Corp for failure to let it exit its investment in a stalled joint venture mall project in Hyderabad, according to reports.

Reports stated that AIG Global Real Estate India Advisors had invested Rs 3.50bn in project, which got delayed due to lack of consensus.

The AIG arm served a legal auction notice to RMZ in mid-September asking it to sell stake held by both RMZ and AIG in Millenia Properties, reports says.

There are reports that under the agreement, the SPV was expected to construct a mall-cum residential property in Hyderabad by early 2012

Domestic News

Jones Lang LaSalle ties up with Everstone

Everstone has tied-up with Jones Lang LaSalle India for providing retail property management services to four shopping malls at Pune, Kochi, Vadodara and Ahmedabad.
 
Under this arrangement, Jones Lang LaSalle India will provide end-to-end services - from ensuring optimal year-round occupancy to creating and maintaining a superior retailer and customer experience. The mandate marks the introduction on Jones Lang LaSalle's globally proven Retail Asset Management services module in India
 
“We are ramping up our business in the real estate domain. Jones Lang LaSalle India will bring in global best practices which should enhance retailer and customer experience and ensure strong mall occupancies.” says Dhanpal Jhaveri, Partner and CEO - Everstone Capital Advisors.

Citi, JPMorgan initiate arbitration proceedings against BPTP: reports

PE funds, Citi Property Investors and JPMorgan Chase, initiated separate arbitration proceedings against BPTP, on the grounds that it has failed to provide a time-bound exit for their respective investments, according to reports.

Reports said that two global funds have alleged a breach of contract on the part of BPTP, which was to implement an initial public offering by July 8, 2011.

Arbitrators have been appointed and proceedings are expected to begin shortly in the two cases, Reports said.

There are reports that Citi Property Investors had invested 3.22bn for a 5.89% stake in the company, while. Harbour Victoria Investment Holdings, a part of JPMorgan Chase & Co group of companies, had picked up 6.21% stake in the company for around 2.60bn in 2008-2009.

DLF files 5 patents for inventions

DLF Ltd., India’s largest real estate company, has filed five patents for inventions pertaining to safety and security against any possible safety threat/ hazards to the buildings/ premises and its residents. DLF is the true and first inventor of these inventions.

This is the first time in India, that any real estate company has invested its time, money and resources for inventions and development of such unique technology critical for safety and security of building, its premises and residents.

HDFC PMS sells 50% in Runwal’s Mulund project: reports

HDFC Portfolio Management Services has sold its 50% stake in Runwal Group's project in Mulund, according to reports.

Reports stated that Runwal Group has bought out the JV partner in a transaction that was inked earlier this week.

HDFC PMS had invested in the project at early stage of land acquisition, reports said.

Godrej Properties plans to raise Rs2 bn by issuing commercial paper: reports

International News

Knight Frank Group turnover up 8% in FY12

Knight Frank LLP, the world’s leading independent property advisor, announced its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2012

Highlights:

Group turnover up 8% to £333.9m (2011: £308.4m)
Group profit before tax £95.9m (2011: £101.9m)
Strong balance sheet with minimal intangible assets – net cash balances £98.5m (2011: £91.7m)
Unutilised£30m revolving credit facility
Staff numbers up 4% to 7,067 globally

Nick Thomlinson, senior partner, Knight Frank commented: “Knight Frank has again delivered strong performances across our global network in what have continued to be very challenging markets.“Our strong links to international capital through our global network have ensured our teams have had an exceptional year and been involved with some of the world’s leading transactions.

For example, recent highlights include:

the sale of Battersea Power Station to a Malaysian consortium for a reported £400m,
the sale of St John’s Wood Barracks to a global investor for a reported £250m,
ongoing office leasing for the Shard, the tallest building Western Europe
the sale of the most expensive house on record in the UK
the sale of 18 Kowloon East in Hong Kong for HK$2.51 billion
the sale of 215 Adelaide Street & 235 Edward Street in Brisbane for AUS$134.5m

“The firm has made substantial investment into the business over the past year as we believe that this represents the right time to build for the future and continue to extend our global network.

Axa Real Estate raises $1.8bn for Europe property lending: reports

Axa Real Estate Investment Managers has reportedly raised 1.4 bn euros ($1.8 billion) for commercial property loans in Europe and plans to lend 2.4 bn euros this year.

Fund raising this year will increase Axa Real Estate’s debt program to about 7 billion euros, reports said.

HSBC Holdings sells Property Vision Holdings: reports

HSBC Holdings PLC reportedly said that its wholly owned subsidiary HSBC Private Bank (U.K.) Ltd. has sold Property Vision Holdings Ltd. to PV Acquisition Ltd., a company set up by members of Property Vision's current management team, for an undisclosed sum.

HSBC Private Bank will continue to introduce its clients to Property Vision under a referral agreement to be entered into at completion, reports said.