CSFB HQ at Canary Wharf in London Sold for £452

Property Week - July 27, 2007

Evans Randall has bought the freehold of 5 Canada Square in Canary Wharf from the Royal Bank of Scotland for £452m its largest UK investment. The Mayfair-based private investment bank and private equity company bought the 14-storey 515,000 sq ft building, constructed in 2002, at an initial yield of around 4.4%.

The property is let to Credit Suisse International on a 25-year lease ending in October 2027. Ten of the 14 floors are sublet to Bank of America. Annual rent of £19.7m equates to around £38/sq ft. Evans Randall, which owns a 50% stake in 30 St Mary Axe, said the next rent review is in October and, with £47/sq ft achieved in similar buildings, the investment is highly reversionary.

Michael Evans, chairman and chief executive of Evans Randall, said: ‘As the single-largest investment we have made in the UK real estate market, 5 Canada Square fits perfectly with our strategy of acquiring trophy buildings in Europe’s main financial centres at rentals that have significant reversionary value.’

Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking provided debt. CB Richard Ellis advised Evans Randall; Lazards acted for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Sphere: Related Content

Hela Completes $621 Million Sale Leaseback of German Retail Portfolio

Reuters - July 25, 2007

Private British property firm Numisma said on Wednesday it had bought a portfolio of retail properties from German retail group Distributa. A source familiar with the matter said the sale-and-leaseback deal was worth around 450 million euros ($621.5 million).

Numisma -- a joint venture between the offshore family trust of British property entrepreneur Pervaiz Naviede and private wealth manager Stenham Group -- said the deal brought the value of its property holdings to just over 1 billion euros and reflected a net initial yield of 6.5 percent.

The 260,000 square metres (2.8 million square feet) portfolio comprised 17 outlets let to German home improvements retailer Hela, nine supermarkets operated by Rewe subsidiary Accord, five hypermarkets occupied by Kaufland as well as Distributa's head office and main distribution facility.

All four tenants will continue to occupy the properties. Sphere: Related Content

B&B Completes EUR 471 Million Sale Leaseback of 159 Hotels in France

Bloomberg - July 24, 2007

ANF SA, a real estate investment trust controlled by buyout firm Eurazeo SA, bought 159 hotels across France for 471 million euros ($651 million) from operator B&B, which will lease them back.

B&B, which is France's third-largest economy hotel company and is controlled by Eurazeo, will lease the hotels back under a 12-year accord, paying an initial annual rent of 27.3 million euros, Paris-based Eurazeo said in a faxed statement today.

The acquisition is the first purchase and leaseback deal by ANF, which opted for REIT status at the start of 2006, a year after Eurazeo transferred to it 131 buildings and developments in Lyon and Marseille. Eurazeo owns 83 percent of B&B.

ANF plans to raise half of the acquisition costs by selling new shares by the year-end. It hired BNP Paribas SA to manage the sale. The rest will be financed through bank loans. Only nine of the hotels bought have loans outstanding.

ANF will also acquire about 58 million euros of additional hotels that B&B is building during the next three years, according to the statement. Sphere: Related Content

Merlin Entertainments Group Completes £622 Million Sale Leaseback of Top Tourist Attractions in UK

Property Week - July 20, 2007

Nick Leslau’s Prestbury has bought a portfolio of famous UK tourist attractions from private equity group Blackstone in a £622m sale and leaseback. The portfolio, sold by Blackstone-controlled Merlin Entertainments Group, features four UK assets, Madame Tussauds London, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Warwick Castle. It also includes one continental European asset, the Heide Park theme park in Soltau, northern Germany.

The properties were sold to Prestbury’s investment fund, Prestbury 1 Limited Partnership, and will be leased back to Merlin on 35-year renewable leases. The fund’s major investors are Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital, Icelandic retail investor Baugur and HBOS. It is managed by Prestbury. For the Merlin deal the four investors have put up £100m equity each, and three smaller investors have put up £25m of equity each.

Sandy Gumm, finance officer at Prestbury, said the deal was a formalisation of the ad-hoc arrangement whereby the parties had co-operated on several previous sale and leasebacks. "We’ve done a string of deals with these guys, and we know we like working with them," she said. Sphere: Related Content

CIMB Group Seeks Sale Leaseback of Office Tower in Kuala Lumpur

YellowBrix IndustryWatch - July 9, 2007

CIMB Group is putting up its Menara Commerce office building for sale. According to sources close to the deal, the group has already prepared the request for proposals (RFPs) to be given out to any parties interested in buying the building, located at the intersection of Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Esfahan in Kuala Lumpur.

It is also learnt that the group plans to dispose of the property on a sale-and-lease-back basis whereby it will continue to occupy the building and pay rent to the new owner. "The property is situated in the heart of the city centre. The location is strategic. It would be a good purchase for corporate and regional REIT (real estate investment trust) players," a source told Business Times.

Property valuers contacted estimated the market value of the 630,000 sq ft building to range from RM250 million to RM441 million, based on the current market value of between RM400 per sq ft and RM700 per sq ft for commercial buildings in the area. Sphere: Related Content

Applebee’s to Pursue Sale Leaseback 508 Company Owned Restaurants

New York Times/Reuters - July 17, 2007

The franchise restaurant chain IHOP said yesterday that it planned to buy Applebee’s International for $25.50 a share to expand beyond its pancake houses, sending IHOP shares up nearly 9 percent. The all-cash deal, which represents a 4.6 percent premium to Applebee’s closing price on Friday, is worth about $1.9 billion, excluding debt, based on the company’s 75,072,000 shares outstanding as of April 1.

With a market capitalization of $980.6 million, IHOP is using securitized debt backed mostly by Applebee’s assets to finance the purchase of Applebee’s, which has a market value of $1.82 billion.

IHOP said it planned to sell, and then lease back, the real estate of Applebee’s 508 company-owned restaurants, at a rate of about 40 stores each quarter, to raise cash to help reduce the debt.

IHOP’s chief executive, Julia A. Stewart, a former Applebee’s president, said the company intended to “fundamentally change” Applebee’s business model, “moving it nearly completely out of the role of owner-operator to one that is predominantly a franchiser.” Sphere: Related Content

AEG-Electrolux Completes €60 Million Sale Leaseback of HQ in Nurnberg Germany

Finfacts Ireland - July 18, 2007

CMC Capital, the West Cork based investor in German commercial property on behalf of clients, has announced it has purchased the headquarters of the international domestic appliance group AEG-Electrolux in a €60 million investment. The property, which is located in Nurnberg, Germany was purchased in the form of a sale and lease back arrangement on behalf of CMC Capital’s property syndicate investors.

Under the terms of the deal, AEG-Electrolux has agreed to a long lease for office accommodation on the site, where it will retain its international headquarters on approximately 20,000 square metres. Over 700 AEG employees will continue to work at the complex, located close to the centre of Nurnberg.

The transaction was structured as a joint venture with the firm’s German partner, MIB AG, a leading German real estate firm based in Berlin. Under the terms of the agreement CMC Capital and MIB AG will look to further develop the site following this acquisition. Sphere: Related Content

AT&T Seeking $290 Million Sale Leaseback of Chicago Office Tower

Crain's Chicago Business - July 16, 2007

AT&T Inc. is putting a nearly 1-million-square-foot building in the West Loop on the market in what could be a $290-million sale/leaseback deal.

As a part of the sale, the San Antonio-based telecom giant would sign a 10-year lease, says a spokesman. The Chicago office of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. is marketing the 31-story structure at 225 W. Randolph St., he confirmed. He declined to comment on a possible price, but people familiar with the listing say AT&T would pay net rent, not including taxes and operating expenses, of $18 to $20 a square foot. That would put the sales price in the range of $290 million, those sources say.

Since 2005, AT&T has done several sale/leaseback deals, which total “more than $1 billion that’s been redeployed back into the business, rather than sitting in real estate,” the spokesman says. Among those transactions was the $338-million sale of the Midwestern headquarters in 2005 to Inland Real Estate Group. AT&T signed an 11-year lease, not including renewal options, for the 1.69-million-square-foot campus in Hoffman Estates.

The nearly 2,300 employees in the West Loop building would not be affected by the sale, the spokesman says. AT&T or a predecessor has owned the building since it was built in 1966. Sphere: Related Content

DnB NOR Completes $304 Million Sale Leaseback of HQ in Oslo

DnB NOR Web Site - July 12, 2007

DnB NOR's headquarters premises at Aker Brygge in Oslo were today sold to Norwegian Property for NOK 1,740 million. The sale represent just over 31,700 square metres of commercial property at Aker Brygge. The sum includes lease agreements for the headquarters offices and shopping areas. This gives a yield of 4.45 percent the first year based on existing lease agreements.

ACN Newswire reports that DnB NOR Bank ASA constitutes 82% of rental income under a four year contract with right to extend at market conditions. The rest of the tenants are mainly shops and restaurants and have an average duration of 4.4 years. All leases are CPI adjusted annually.

Both Norwegian and international potential buyers have taken part in the process. After today's transaction DnB NOR will focus on the sale of the remaining bank buildings within the Group in Norway. Over 30 bank owned buildings are planned to be sold in autumn. Sphere: Related Content

European SLB Volume Beats Predictions

GlobeSt.com - July 17, 2007

London—Sale-leaseback and single-tenant property sales are on the rise in Europe and there are no signs the trend is likely to end. “There’s been a huge increase in that kind of activity,” says John Knowles, a London-based director in the Europe, Middle East and Africa capital markets group of DTZ, a global real estate services firm. “For the next 12 to 18 months, I don’t see a slowdown.”

Several factors have been driving the increased activity, Knowles explains, including the strength of the global real estate market and the sheer amount of liquidity chasing property. In addition, considerable private equity and M&A activity are altering the way corporations operate, leading to an increased outsourcing of their real estate. Third, there are accounting issues, says Knowles, since most real estate has been held at acquisition cost or book value, and not actively managed or revalued.

“There’s a huge store of real estate on corporates’ balance sheets,” he notes. “That means there’s a hidden store of value at these corporates.”

(The article goes on to site several recent and planned European sale leaseback transactions.) Sphere: Related Content

Alliance Boots Planning £1 Billion Sale Leaseback of UK Property Portfolioo

Business Sale Report - July 16, 2007

Alliance Boots' property assets are set to be sold by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and are thought likely to fetch around £1bn. According to reports, the move for a proposed 'refinancing' could indicate that KKR and Pessina are looking to sell and lease back Boots property to help finance the acquisition of the chemist chain. Sphere: Related Content

IndyMac Closes $116 Million Sale Leaseback of Office Campus in Pasadena, CA

Cityfeet / GlobeSt.com - July 13, 2007

Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc. of Norcross, GA has acquired a 265,000-sf three-building office and retail project called Pasadena Corporate Park for $116 million in a sale-leaseback with IndyMac Bank. IndyMac has signed a 10-year lease to remain in the property, which is on Foothill Boulevard near the Interstate 210 and 605 freeways.

Bounded by North Halstead Street and East Foothill Boulevard, the project includes two three-story office buildings and a retail building, with IndyMac occupying 71% of it. The bank was represented in the sale by Todd Doney of CB Richard Ellis along with Steve Silk and Steve Somer of Eastdil Secured.

The buyer did not disclose terms of the deal, but a public filing by IndyMac listed the sales price as approximately $116 million. According to information from Real Capital Analytics, the property sold for $56 million when IndyMac bought it from Kearny Real Estate in late 2003. The property serves as IndyMac's mortgage banking headquarters.

The Pasadena Corporate Park was a value-added play for Kearny before its sale to IndyMac, with Kearny buying what was originally known as the Xerox facility in December 1999.

Kearny revitalized and repositioned the obsolete 40-year-old facility to create a class A suburban office campus before selling it to IndyMac. Sphere: Related Content

Tiffany Seeking £80 Million Sale Leaseback of Flagship Bond Street Store in London

Hemscott - June 10, 2007

The iconic Old Bond Street store owned by Tiffany & Co has been put up for sales for 80 mln stg, The Sunday Express reported, without naming sources. Tiffany is believed to have appointed property agents Harper Dennis Hobbs to market the store to ultra-rich individuals in a process that will begin this week, according to the newspaper. The newspaper said the store, which is being sold on a sale and leaseback basis, will be bought by either a wealthy Irish or Arab investor. Sphere: Related Content

Life Style Care Nearing £260 Million Sale Leaseback of UK Care Home Portfolio

Property Week - July 13, 2007

Institutional funds and overseas investors are thought to be in the running for the portfolio of 23 care homes. Invista Real Estate, ING, Prupim and the Quercus healthcare fund managed by Quintain on behalf of Morley are all understood to have expressed interested.

Mark Shipman, founding partner of selling agent Michael Elliott, confirmed that there had been interest from institutions and overseas investors. The £260m price tag would reflect a yield of 4.57% that would rise to 6.52% in March 2022 after deducting 2% buyer’s costs. However, the £230m is thought to be a more realistic price, at a yield of more than 5%. The portfolio is expected to generate annual rent of more than £12.1m. There will be annual rent rises of 3% a year from March 2011 to March 2022. Of the 23 care homes, 16 are within the M25 and the others are in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Luton, Reading and Slough.

Southern Cross is also selling 24 of its own properties on a sale-and-leaseback basis for £130m. The company would continue to operate the care homes and keep 40% of the operating profits from them. The other 60% would go to the property owner. Philip Scott, chief executive of Southern Cross Healthcare, said the firm has been talking to potential buyers but had not yet entered into detailed discussions. "We’re not in exclusivity with any one party at the moment," he said. Sphere: Related Content

Rileys Contemplates £70 Million Sale Leaseback of UK Snooker Clubs and Bowling Alleys

>The Sunday Times - July 15, 2007

The company behind Rileys snooker clubs and Tenpin bowling centres is in detailed talks over a £70m sale-and-leaseback of its outlets.

Georgica is believed to be negotiating to sell the snooker clubs to Canada Life, the insurance company, and the tenpin bowling halls to an unidentified individual property investor. Once the deal is completed it will continue to manage the venues.

The sale-and-leaseback deals come as the quoted leisure group weighs up bid interest for both divisions.

Last month it said that it was exploring a number of “alternative options” for the bowling and snooker activities. It has promised to update the market by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, a rival tenpin bowling business is set to be sold in the next couple of weeks.

The private-equity arm of ABN Amro is close to clinching a deal to buy AMF Bowling from John Cook and Peter Harris, the holiday tycoons, for about £50m.

Cook and Harris, the main shareholders in Bourne Leisure, the privately-owned group behind Butlins, acquired AMF in 2004.

If the deal goes through it will be latest in a series of investments ABN has made in the leisure sector. Sphere: Related Content

AT&T Seeking Sale Leaseback of Large Office Portolio in Atlanta

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - July 9, 2007

AT&T has put several big properties in Atlanta up for sale, including BellSouth's ex-headquarters in Midtown.

The former BellSouth building, known as Campanile, sits at the southeast corner of 14th and Peachtree streets. The prominent Midtown site will be sold because AT&T no longer needs the space. The Campanile sits at the southeast corner of 14th and Peachtree streets.

AT&T also wants to sell two other complexes, then lease them back for ongoing use by the company. Employees at the sites have been told they won't have to move. One of the spots is in Midtown and has two buildings, both located near AT&T's landmark white tower. The other location includes a cluster of five structures at Lenox Park, a development not far from Lenox Square mall in Buckhead.

AT&T bought BellSouth in December. Many people anticipated that AT&T would sell some of the Atlanta real estate the company inherited in the wake of the massive deal.

"Rather than keeping a lot of capital tied up in office buildings, we're selling some of them and leasing them back so we can redeploy the proceeds into growth projects, or using them to build value for stockholders," said AT&T spokesman Joe Chandler. "In other cases, as is the case with the Campanile building, we're selling the buildings outright."

With the sale-leaseback plan for other buildings, AT&T aims to repeat a pattern used elsewhere. The company has sold and then leased back buildings in St. Louis, Cleveland, Bedminster, N.J., and New Haven, Conn.

AT&T's Midtown 1 and 2 buildings, as they are known within the company, have a combined 842,421 square feet. Chandler said the structures were built in 2002 and 2003 and, even after a sale, would continue to house about 1,800 AT&T staffers. The structures are close to AT&T's 27-year-old tower located at 675 W. Peachtree St. Together, the buildings form what is known as AT&T Midtown Center.

AT&T's five-building Lenox Park complex has a combined 1.1 million square feet, enough room for about 2,800 staffers. BellSouth created the campus by purchasing three existing buildings in 1999 and adding two more in 2001. AT&T workers will stay at the site.

Chandler said Staubach Co. is handling the sale of Lenox Park, while CB Richard Ellis is in charge of marketing the Midtown properties. AT&T declined to say how much it is seeking for the structures. Sphere: Related Content

BenQ Agrees to $151 Million Sale Leaseback of Taipei HQ Tower

Bangkok Post - July 10, 2007

Taiwan's electronics giant BenQ said Tuesday it had agreed to sell two office buildings in Taipei as part of its cost-cutting plan.

BenQ will sell the two buildings which form its headquarters in the Neihu high-tech district to Taiwan's Shin Kong Life Insurance Co for 5 billion Taiwan dollars (151 million US dollars), BenQ said in a statement.

The two buildings are a 14-storey building with four basement levels and a 11-storey building with four basement levels. BenQ will lease back the taller building to use as its Taipei headquarters.

'This is part of the on-going financial plan to improve the overall financial strength of the company,' BenQ Spokesman Eric Yu said in the statement.

BenQ expects to make a record gain of 1.2 billion Taiwan dollars {36 million US dollars) from the sale of the buildings. The transaction is expected to be completed 40 to 60 days after the signing of the agreement on Tuesday. Sphere: Related Content

Allianz Seeking EUR 1.5 Billion Sale Leaseback of 10 Office Buildings

Forbes - July 9, 2007

IVG Immobilien AG, Babcock & Brown and Tishman Speyer are bidding for part of a 3.5 bln eur real estate portfolio offered by Allianz SE, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing sources close to the negotiations.

Allianz plans to initially sell a 1.5 bln eur chunk of the portfolio, comprising 10 office buildings that the company aims to sell in a sale-and-leaseback deal, the newspaper said. The German insurer has commissioned Rothschild to find a buyer for the assets, it said. A decision will likely be made in 'a few weeks,' it cited market sources as saying.

The remaining 2 bln eur of assets in the portfolio, comprising almost 200 commercial properties in Germany, has attracted the interest of Goldman Sachs's Whitehall real estate fund as well as Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, FT Deutschland said, citing industry sources. The assets, which are being sold through Jones Lang LaSalle, are expected to be sold in August at the earliest, it said. Sphere: Related Content

Kichler Lighting Enters $35.8 Million Sale Leaseback of Cleveland HQ

Crain's Cleveland Business - July 10, 2007

An investment partnership led by Griffin Capital Co. of Los Angeles paid $35.8 million on June 29 for the headquarters and warehouse of Kichler Lighting Co., 7711 East Pleasant Valley Road in Independence, land records show.

Barry Minoff, Kichler chairman, said the company had sold the headquarters and warehouse in a sale-leaseback. He said the company leased the property for 15 years. The building includes 600,000 square feet of warehouse and office space. Sphere: Related Content

InBev Enters EUR 419 Million Sale Leaseback of 824 Pubs in Belgium and the Netherlands

Cofinimmo Web Site - July 7, 2007

InBev (Euronext/INB) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Cofinimmo (Euronext/COFB) under which InBev Belgium will sell 90% of Immobrew S.A./N.V., a subsidiary which directly owns 824 pubs and some residential real estate locations in Belgium and indirectly 245 in the Netherlands, for 419 million euro for 90%, on a debt and cash free basis. At the same time InBev will enter into a lease agreement with Immobrew and some of its affiliates.

Consistent with InBev’s commitment to free up capital invested in non-core activities, InBev has decided to sell parts of its real estate assets in Belgium and the Netherlands, thereby enhancing the focus on its core beer business. The portfolio is sold to Cofinimmo, the largest listed real estate company in Belgium. The structure of the transaction ensures that InBev Belgium will retain a 10% interest in Immobrew. Immobrew will hold lease agreements (commercial types) of 27 years (plus renewal mechanism) with InBev for an initial rent of 26.8 million euro per annum (i.e. a 6.4% cap rate) indexed to CPI.

The commercial relationship between the pub tenants and InBev will not change. Cofinimmo has committed to further investments in the properties, and it is the aim of both parties to assure the continued success of the property portfolio. InBev’s Zone President for Western Europe, Stéfan Descheemaeker, said, “Freeing up resources will allow us to concentrate on winning with consumers, via our beer brands."

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2007. Lazard acted as sole financial advisor to InBev in the transaction. Sphere: Related Content

Bunnings Enters $197 Million Sale Leaseback on Six Warehouses in Australia

Brisbane Times - July 6, 2007

Listed property developer and funds manager Charter Hall group has raised $120 million to fund the purchase of six Bunnings warehouses, a shopping centre and a half share in the private Commercial & Industrial Fund.

In a deal worth an overall $197 million, with the remaining $77 million in debt and scrip, Charter Hall will grow its market capitalisation from $1.16 billion to $1.29 billion. It is planned that the new Bunnings warehouses, spread across the country, will be the seed assets for the proposed Charter Hall wholesale Core Plus Retail Fund.

Charter Hall already has an array of retail assets including bulky good centres and Coles distribution centres. These will be placed in the new retail fund with the Bunnings sites giving it a value of about $438 million.

For its part Bunnings, part of the Wesfarmers group, will lease back the centres on 12-year leases. Sphere: Related Content

TDC Completes $757 Million Sale Leaseback of 224 Properties in Denmark

TDC Web Site - July 6, 2007

Today, TDC A/S announces that the company has entered into a sale and lease back agreement regarding 224 of its 1586 properties in Denmark with another company having ATP Ejendomme A/S and PFA Ejendomme A/S as its main investors.

The properties cover about 480,000 sqm and are mainly being used for technical and administrative purposes. TDC's head office at Nørregade 21, Copenhagen, which is owned by KTAS' pension fund, is not included. As a consequence of the sale and lease back, in future TDC will be a lessee of the properties. The leases are interminable for up to 30 years for the lessee as well as the lessor.

The total consideration is DKK 4.1bn on a cash and debt free basis. The sale is
expected to result in an after tax gain of approximately DKK 2.8 bn which will
be included in the 3Q statement of income under special items. Sphere: Related Content

Swiss National Railway Company SBB Completes £38.3 Million Sale Leaseback

Property Week - July 6, 2007

Livermore Investments Group, an AIM-listed company that gave up online gaming in January to become an investment company, has carried out its first property deal. The group, led by Noam Lanir, paid CHF93.5m (£38.3m) for a 366,000 sq ft office in Bern in a sale-and-leaseback deal with the Swiss national railway company, SBB.

The deal is the first in Livermore’s aim to buy $1bn (£500m) of mainly Swiss Property ‘generating secure income streams from tenants with high credit ratings’. The block, Wylerpark, will be leased by SBB for a minimum of 12 years at CHF4.3m (£1.77m - a 4.6% cap rate) a year for the first year, rising each year in line with the Swiss consumer price index.

Livermore will also build 39 flats overlooking the Alps on the land, which are expected to be completed in 2008 at a cost of CHF16m (£6.5m). It has also bought the rights for 86,000 sq ft of office development at a later date, which it said it intended to pursue.

"This investment will generate a secure income stream from an AAA-rated tenant and potentially provide additional yield enhancement through the development of the accompanying residential project and the additional commercial development rights," he added. Sphere: Related Content

Citibank Awards $139 Million Sale leaseback of 23 New York City Bank Branches

Commercial Property News - July 6, 2007

A portfolio of 23 Citibank branches in the New York City metropolitan region drew an unusual level of interest from investors before it fetched $139.4 million from the winning bidder, an affiliate of Aegon, the Dutch life insurance and pension firm.

“This is one of the most actively bid portfolios that we’ve ever handled,” Kenneth Zakin, a senior managing director at Newmark Knight Frank, told CPN this morning. Zakin led the NKF team that handled the transaction in concert with an in-house team from Citigroup. Aegon was represented by a Dubuque-based affiliate, Aegon USA Realty Advisors Inc.

All told, some 50 potential investors participated in the first round of bidding, and up to 20 bidders continued through the second round. Bidders ran the gamut from REITS and private investors to net-lease and 1031 exchange investors, Zakin noted. About half of the properties are net-leased by Citibank and the rest have multiple tenants.

Zakin attributed the strong competition for the assets to the rare combination of a credit tenant--in this case, Citibank--offering attractively located branches. “We haven’t seen, in the New York metro area, this kind of product,” he explained. The 207,000-square-foot portfolio is distributed through four of New York City’s five boroughs plus the affluent suburbs of Nassau and Westchester Counties. Zakin suggested that Citibank’s sale-leaseback strategy reflects the national trend among commercial banks of monetizing assets. Sphere: Related Content

Mekonomen Completes $78.5 Million Sale Leaseback of 45 Properties in Sweeden & Denmark

Mekonomen Web Site - July 2, 2007

Mekonomen today completed the sale of the Group’s property portfolio, comprising 85,000 square metres of floor space, distributed among 45 retail properties and other commercial properties in Sweden and Denmark.

The purchaser is AXA Group of France, which took over the portfolio on 2 July 2007. The purchase price was SEK 529 million. (The annual rental expense is estimated at approximately SEK 36 M.)

The transaction gives rise to an after-tax capital gain of SEK 131 million. This amount will be reported in earnings during the third quarter of 2007, rather than in the second quarter, as previously announced.

Mekonomen is a car spare parts chain with its own wholesale operation and a nationwide retail network of wholly owned and co-operating stores in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Group revenues mainly consist of revenues to service centres and motorists via wholly owned stores, and wholesale operations aimed at co-operating stores. Sphere: Related Content

Morrisons Ponders £1 Billion Bid For Sale Leaseback Bid for 25 UK Supermarkets

The Telegraph - July 5, 2007

Supermarket group Morrisons has received several approaches for a portfolio of 25 sites that is expected to fetch more than a £1bn.

The company announced at its interim results earlier this year that it was looking to unlock value from the sites which are within or near its shopping centre parks, as well as from the shops themselves. The deal would help pay down the company's debt and return cash to shareholders.

The move to sell and leaseback sites has been looked at by several supermarkets, including Sainsbury, which has come under pressure from investors to relinquish its freeholds.

Morrisons declined to comment yesterday on who had made the approaches for the sites. Morrisons has already cashed in £1.3bn from property disposals since it bought rival Safeway. Sphere: Related Content

SunTrust Plans Sale-Leaseback of 48 Office Buildings, 425 Bank Branches

CNN Money/Commercial Property News - July 3, 2007

As SunTrust pursues its goal of saving $530 million by 2009, the bank said today it will sell and then lease back 473 facilities--48 office buildings and 425 retail branches--in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
(Link to Offering Materials)

William Reed Jr., SunTrust vice chairman in charge of its geographic banking organization, said the office buildings would be marketed separately but the sale/leaseback of the retail branches would be offered in one portfolio. No branch closures are planned as part of the sale/leaseback initiative, he said in a release. The total square footage of the office buildings was not disclosed.

A SunTrust spokesman told CPN today that of the bank's 1,691 branches, the company owns 720. "We are selling about 58 percent of the branches of the 720 owned and 25 percent overall," he said. The spokesman declined to say whether SunTrust expected to put the remaining branches it owns up for a similar sale/leaseback initiative in the future. "This is the extent of what we've announced," he said, adding that the company expected these transactions to be completed by the end of the year.

The sale/leaseback plan of SunTrust's corporate real estate is part of an overall restructuring program to boost efficiency and raise shareholder value.

"All the transactions are either net sale/leasebacks or sale partial leasebacks," the spokesman said, adding that the company would consider selling the office buildings in groups rather than individually.

He said SunTrust was the sole tenant in most of the buildings. The spokesman reiterated that SunTrust was going to keep a significant presence in the office buildings for an extended period of time even though the company is looking to shed about 300 positions in its geographic banking organization. Sphere: Related Content

Neckermann Completes €197 Million Sale Leaseback of Campus in Frankfurt

SEGRO Web Site - July 3, 2007

SEGRO has exchanged contracts on its largest ever transaction in Continental Europe, the sale and leaseback from Neckermann (a KarstadtQuelle group company) of a major office and distribution campus in Frankfurt for €197m, including all acquisition costs. This follows SEGRO’s 2005/06 €163m acquisition of a major logistics portfolio and landbank from KarstadtQuelle AG in a sale and leaseback transaction.

The property is located approximately 4km from the centre of Frankfurt on Hanauer Landstraße, the main artery running east from the city, near to the new European Central Bank building, which is currently under construction.

The assets comprise a total of 30 ha and has a built area in excess of 310,000m², including some 86,000m² of high quality office space. The remainder of the site includes high and low bay warehousing, flexible business space, a large data centre and some small retail units.

Approximately 83% of the income from the site (occupied entirely by Neckermann) is secured on leases of at least 10 years, with the remaining space, principally offices that have been let to other Karstadt group companies or to Neckermann’s contractors, leased on shorter terms, thus representing a refurbishment / redevelopment opportunity in the medium term.

(Bloomberg quotes Harm Meijer, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London, as saying annual rental income represents a net 7.9 percent of the purchase price after costs, with rents pegged to consumer price inflation.) Sphere: Related Content

Citigroup European HQ in London Reportedly Sold for £1 Billion

Scotsman.com - July 2, 2007

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was today understood to have sold one of its two City tower blocks in a deal worth £1 billion, marking the second-biggest property transaction ever seen in the UK and netting the Edinburgh bank an estimated profit of around £310 million.

Scotland's biggest company is said to have offloaded the landmark 25 Canada Square - currently the European headquarters of financial services giant Citigroup - to a joint venture group featuring PropInvest and former Dublin tax inspector Derek Quinlan's Quinlan Private group, whose other investments include Claridges Hotel, in London, and the Jurys Inns chain.

PropInvest, meanwhile, is run by Sheffield-based businessman Glenn Maud, who was said to have been one of the bidders for Swiss Re's flagship "Gherkin" building when it was sold earlier this year for £600m to an affiliate of German property group IVG Immobilien. It is thought that Mr Maud is putting around £500m of his own cash into the purchase.

Citigroup will remain in the 1.22m square feet, 45-storey building and has secured a further 20-year lease, paying £46.5m a year in rent for the landmark tower.

RBS bought 25 Canada Square and another smaller building at number 5 Canada Square four years ago in a deal worth £1.1bn. Lazard, which advised RBS on the deal, is thought to also be advising on the sale of RBS' smaller Canada Square property, which is currently let to Credit Suisse and sub-let to Bank of America - the group which RBS is trying to reach an agreement with on a carve up of ABN's US-based unit LaSalle.

It is unclear which proportion of the £1.1bn RBS originally paid was for 25 Canada Square, but the market value was £690m, according to details of the sale at the time, which also revealed the building charged annual rental income of £44.9m in 2003.

The smaller of the two buildings, 5 Canada Square was worth £327m on the market in 2003. It is thought that it could fetch £400m, taking RBS' total profit closer to £400m if and when the second building - which covers 515,000 sq ft - is sold. Sphere: Related Content

Marseille-Kliniken Completes EUR 95 Million Sale Leaseback of 6 Healthcare Properties

Marseille-Kliniken Web Site - June 29, 2007

Marseille-Kliniken AG successfully closed a third substantial sale-and-lease-back transaction with real estate investor Grosvenor House Group PLC, Great Britain. To this end, Marseille-Kliniken AG will sell a total of six properties - three care facilities and three rehabilitation properties, totalling 1,304 beds to the British investor by way of a sale-and-lease-back transaction and will simultaneously lease all properties back from the company in the long term.

The transaction with a total volume of EUR 95.5 million provides the enterprise with expanded financial flexibility to realize its growth strategy in core segment care. After the implementation of the transaction, the real estate portfolio of the Marseille-Kliniken AG will be divided into approximately 20% owned and 80% leased facilities. The transaction will further reduce the long term financial debts of the enterprise. Sphere: Related Content

Bank of New Zealand Office Tower in Auckland Sold for $45.5 Million

NZ Herald - June 30, 2007

A European investment company is the latest offshore investor to show an interest in the Auckland property market, paying $45.5 million for a 7500 sq m CBD office building being developed by Mansons TCLM at Quay Park.

The sale, while the building is still under construction, reflects strong international competition for large buildings which continues to be a feature of the New Zealand commercial and industrial property market.

The property was sold with a 12-year lease to the BNZ from completion scheduled in April 2008. The bank will relocate almost 300 staff into the property, which will house a call centre and will also meet the company's disaster recovery requirements and will be self-sufficient in the event of a power outage.

It is the second office building that Mansons has sold in the Quay Park precinct this year prior to construction having been completed, coming on the heels of the sale of the green-rated GE Money building earlier this year for $91 million, also to a European investment company. Sphere: Related Content

MWB Seeking £450 Million Sale Leaseback of Hotel Portfolio

The Times - June 30, 2007

Marylebone Warwick Balfour (MWB), the property group under attack from its biggest shareholder, has appointed advisers to sell its Malmaison and Hotel du Vin assets for more than £450 million, The Times has learnt.

Following the collapse of the sale of the assets to Vector Hospitality, MWB has retained Bank of America to find a new buyer. The hotels are expected to be acquired by a property investment firm on a sale and lease-back basis, with MWB continuing to manage them.

The deal with Vector was to have comprised 17 Malmaison and Hotel du Vin properties for £382 million plus a pipeline of seven further hotels for an additional £113 million, making a total of £495 million.

The property portfolio to be sold through Bank of America comprises the 17 original properties plus four more that are due to open in the next five months in Cheltenham, Reading, Cambridge and York. Sphere: Related Content

German Savings Bank Haspa Announces Euro $400 Million Sale Leaseback of 118 Properties

Forbes - June 29, 2007

German savings bank Hamburger Sparkasse (Haspa) said it is selling 118 properties to two funds managed by US investment firm Strategic Value Partners in a sale-and-leaseback deal, confirming earlier reports. No financial details were disclosed.

Financial Times Deutschland earlier cited market sources as saying Strategic Value Partners will pay 400-500 mln eur for the properties. Haspa said it will retain important buildings such as the headquarters and the regional centers. Sphere: Related Content

Sun Microsystems Completes $212 Million Sale Leaseback of Office Campus Near Boston

Boston Business Journal - June 29, 2007

Sun Microsystems has sold its Burlington campus for $212 million to burlington based developer Nordblom Company for $212 million. The campus will be renamed "Network Drive at Northwest Park."

Sun Microsystems will downsize its presence at the 158-acre campus which was built in 1998. As part of the sale of the property, Sun Microsystems will remain a tenant but will only lease back about 450,000 square feet, said Tamie Thompson of Jones Lang LaSalle, whose firm is heading up the leasing of the Sun campus for Nordblom.

Sun Microsystems executed a 10-year lease with "mid-market rents," said Hunnewell who declined to provide specifics. Approximately 1,500 Sun Microsystems employees work at the Burlington campus.

In addition to 300,000 square feet available for lease in existing buildings, Nordblom has the right to build another 570,000 square feet of commercial uses. Hunnewell said permits allow for office, retail and hotel development on the site but Nordblom has not decided what use or combination of uses will be added to the campus. Sphere: Related Content

Mitsubishi Fuso Completes $1.2 Billion Sale Leaseback of 180 Sales & Repair Shops in Japan

Bloomberg - June 28, 2007

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. sold the real estate of 180 of its sales and repair sites in Japan for about 150 billion yen ($1.22 billion) to Secured Capital Japan Co., taking advantage of the country's rising property prices.

Mitsubishi Fuso sold the majority of its real estate to a Secured Capital fund for about 150 billion yen, Nikkei English News reported today, without citing anyone. Takeshi Sugai, chief financial officer of Secured Capital Japan, said the amount reported by Nikkei was "about right."

Land prices in Japan rose for the first time in 16 years in 2006 amid the nation's longest economic expansion since World War II. Closely held Mitsubishi Fuso will pay rent to Secured Capital to continue to use the facilities, the report said.

Christopher Brandt, a Mitsubishi Fuso spokesman, confirmed the company sold the real estate of 180 units but wouldn't name the amount or buyer. Mitsubishi Fuso, controlled by DaimlerChrysler AG, owned slightly less than 200 sites across Japan before the sale, Nikkei said, without citing anyone.

Secured Capital Japan shares rose 3.7 percent to 279,000 yen at the 11 a.m. trading break in Tokyo. DaimlerChrysler shares haven't started trading today in Germany. They fell 1.4 percent to 66.01 euros yesterday. Sphere: Related Content

Univeg Announces EUR $100 Million Sale Leaseback of Eight Warehouses in Belgium and the Netherlands

Warehouses De Pauw Web Site - June 26, 2007

Closed-end real-estate investment company Warehouses De Pauw reached an agreement for the takeover of the real estate portfolio of the Belgian fruit- and vegetable concern Univeg, also known as De Weide Blik. With this takeover, WDP acquires eight sites with temperature controlled warehouses in Belgium and the Netherlands of which 90% is to be permanently leased for 20 years and 10% is to be permanently leased for 15 years to businesses within the Univeg Group. The initial investment comes to 100 million euros. The economic transfer of the portfolio will take place on 1 July 2007.

The portfolio contains eight sites with a total of 120,000 m² of temperature controlled warehouses. Six sites are in Belgium with a total surface of 60,000 m² and two in the Netherlands also with a total surface of 60,000 m². In addition, there are a total of four new construction projects pre-leased to businesses within the Group that will be developed by WDP in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The total investment for these projects is today estimated at 50 million euros.

The rental income on the portfolio currently amounts to 6.35 million euros per year, triple net. An initial indexation is also provided after six months, at the end of 2007. WDP will also accept 50 million euros worth of debts at 4% (fixed for 15 years) within the Royvelden companies. Sphere: Related Content

Karstadtquelle Seeking €5.5 Billion For Retail Property Portfolio

The Sunday Times - June 24, 2007

The German retail and leisure group that owns a majority stake in Thomas Cook, Karstadtquelle, has appointed bankers to sell off its €5.5 billion (£3.7 billion) property portfolio, in one of Europe’s biggest retail property disposals.

The company has hired NM Rothschild and Goldman Sachs to sell off its real-estate assets, ahead of a possible London listing next year. It is expected the sale will generate strong interest from property companies and investment groups in Britain seeking to buy into the recovering German retail market.

The portfolio includes a string of flagship department stores in Germany including the giant KaDeWe shop in Berlin.

The property portfolio was injected into a joint venture with Whitehall, a division of Goldman Sachs, in March 2006. That deal netted Karstadtquelle €3.7 billion, which was used to pay down group debt. The Germans own 49% of the joint venture and Whitehall owns 51%.

Karstadtquelle’s decision to appoint bankers to sell off the portfolio comes after reports from Germany earlier this year that it has received unsolicited approaches for the assets.

Earlier this week Thomas Mid-delhoff, Karstadtquelle’s chief executive, said the company was considering listing its shares in London because UK investors understood the business better than those in Frankfurt. Sphere: Related Content

SEGi Planning $42 Million Sale Leaseback of College Campus in Malasia

The Star - June 22, 2007

SEG International Bhd (SEGi) plans to sell by year's end the new SEGi College campus in Kota Damansara to AmanahRaya Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and lease it back for 15 years.

Chief executive officer Datuk Clement Hii said that AmanahRaya REIT had made a tentative offer of RM145mil but the two parties were still working out the value. The move was aimed at unlocking the value of the land and to fund the construction of the new building, he said after the company's AGM yesterday.

Early this year, SEGi sold its Subang Jaya campus to AmanahRaya REIT for RM48mil. Hii said proceeds from the sale were being used to settle bank borrowings and fund future expansion in overseas markets.

“We want to be present in countries such as Indonesia, China, India, Britain, the United States and in some African nations through twinning programmes or stake acquisitions. The group was confident that the opening of the sixth campus would attract more foreign students, who now comprise 15% to 18% of the total enrolment, he added. Sphere: Related Content

Bank of Ireland Completes €94 Million Sale Leaseback of 29 Bank Branches

Independent - June 20 2007:

The Layden Group has acquired a Bank of Ireland retail property portfolio in a sale and leaseback deal comprising a total of 30 properties around the country.

The 30 properties — which were guiding €89.5m — achieved a price of €94m, reflecting an initial yield of 3.9pc. The portfolio, made up of 29 retail branches and one call centre, was sold through CBRE property consultants.

The price attained underlines the continuing appetite for properties with “blue-chip” covenants in prominent locations. The branches are spread throughout Ireland with eight situated in Dublin, three in Ulster, seven in Munster, four in Connaught and 8 in Leinster (minus Dublin).

Each property contained an option on behalf of the purchaser to elect for either a fixed 15pc uplift at the first review or an open market rent review. The agents were quoting guide prices ranging from €5.42m for a branch in Mallow to €1.22m for one in Edenderry, Co Offaly. The entire portfolio will produce rents of just over €4m.

Commenting on the sale, Robert Murphy of CBRE noted that the demand for the individual branches was high. However, he added that there were a number of single bids for the portfolio “at yields that recognised the potential for strong retail growth and long term development opportunity.”

The Layden Group is a privately owned family business founded by Joe Layden some 30 years ago. It is a highly successful company with substantial property interests in the commercial and retail markets in Dublin, in the provinces and in Germany.

This is the second tranche of sale and leaseback properties recently disposed of on a sale and leaseback basis by BofI. Its initial sale of 36 branches last autumn attracted the interest of institutions and managers of private equity funds as well as prominent investors.

About half of the branches were sold with full 25-year leases as against 15-year leases in the present isntance. These properties realied around €240m in total. Sphere: Related Content

Eircom Seeking €40 Million Sale Leaseback in Dublin

The Irish Times - June 20, 2007

Eircom is to embark on a sale and leaseback of another of its principal buildings in Dublin. The company's network management centre at Citywest is expected to make around €40 million when it is offered for sale shortly by Sean O'Neill of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald.

Last December Quinlan Private bought Eircom's new headquarters near Heuston Station for over €190 million in a similar sale and leaseback deal. Although details of the latest sale have not been confirmed, Eircom is expected to pay a rent of about €2 million for the three-storey block of 6,875sq m (74,000sq ft) fronting onto the N7 Naas Road.

This would show a net yield of 4.5 per cent. Purchasers will be offered the opportunity to make offers based on the inclusion or exclusion of a tenant-operable break option in year 15 of a 25-year lease. There are 280 surface car-parking spaces but a small exchange on the site will be excluded from the sale. Sphere: Related Content

Merrill Lynch Completes £480 Million Sale Leaseback of London HQ Office Campus

Easier Property News - June 20, 2007

Merrill Lynch today announced the sale of its flagship City of London office campus in a transaction worth approximately £480 million.

An affiliate of GIC Real Estate, the property investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, has agreed to purchase Chapterhouse Holdings Limited whose primary asset is the Merrill Lynch Financial Centre (MLFC) at 2 King Edward Street. MLFC is leased by Merrill Lynch for a term of 15 years with renewal rights extending significantly beyond the initial term.

The MLFC was recently created by Merrill Lynch to fit the company’s specific needs. The office building has been constructed to a very high standard and features two of the largest trading floors in Europe, a 150-seat auditorium, a dedicated client centre as well as many amenities for the over 4,000 employees who work in MLFC and other nearby Merrill Lynch offices.

The building has won a number of significant awards, including the 2002 BCO Best Corporate Workplace Award, the 2002 Stone Award for Interiors and the AIA London Chapter Design Award. MLFC has a net lettable area of approximately 550,000 square feet and is located in the City of London, close to St.Paul’s Cathedral, on land previously occupied by the Post Office covering the north side of Newgate Street from King Edward Street to Giltspur Street.

Merrill Lynch was advised by its Real Estate Investment Banking team and Linklaters LLP, while GIC Real Estate was advised by DTZ and Herbert Smith LLP. Sphere: Related Content

Amcor Completes $57 Million Sale Leaseback of HQ in Australia

Colliers International Web Site - June 19, 2007

Leading Western Australian development company Primewest Management has paid $57 million for Amcor’s Bibra Lake headquarters in one of the biggest industrial property deals ever completed in WA.

The 38.14 hectare site is ideally positioned within the high profile Bibra Lake/Cockburn industrial precinct and has extensive frontage to Phoenix Road. Packaging giant Amcor will lease back its existing factory and offices on a long term basis, while Primewest will develop a high quality industrial estate and possibly an office park on the surplus land.

Primewest is already in discussions with a number of national tenants for design and construct projects on the land and expects work to commence on the site before year end.

Amcor will lease back its 14,000 square metre factory and 730 square metre office complex, but the balance of the land will be redevelopment into industrial lots and possibly an office park.

Primewest Management is one of the most successful wholesale property syndicators and developers in Western Australia and over the last 10 years the company and its directors have built a national portfolio valued in excess of $1 billion. It also owns a number of bulky goods properties and shopping centres throughout WA and NSW. Sphere: Related Content

British Car Auctions Pursuing £317 Million Sale Leaseback of 17 UK Properties

Estates Gazette reports that British Car Auctions, Europe's largest car auctioneer, has brought a £317m sale-and-leaseback portfolio to market through CB Richard Ellis seeking a 5.4% yield.

The firm's 17 freehold auction rooms include a total 170 acres of land with development potential. The company plans to take 30- to 35-year leases on the properties at rents based on current operating profits and subject to fixed, inflation-linked uplifts. Sphere: Related Content

Santander Plans €4 Billion Sale Leaseback of Property Portfolio in Spain

The Guardian - June 14, 2007

The Spanish bank Santander, a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium bidding for ABN Amro, is preparing to sell property to raise €4bn (£2.7bn) to help fund the record-breaking £48bn takeover attempt of the Dutch bank.

As the Spanish bank lined up its property assets for the market, Barclays was searching for ways to add a cash sweetener to its agreed, but lower, bid for ABN Amro. Barclays, whose offer has the recommendation of the Dutch bank's board, is funding its deal entirely in shares but is expected to have to increase its bid to be able to see off the RBS consortium.

The RBS consortium has structured its hostile offer as 79% cash and the rest in RBS shares. Santander and the Dutch-Belgian financial group Fortis are providing much of the cash. By selling off 44 buildings throughout Spain, 1,200 offices and its new headquarters in Boadilla on the outskirts of Madrid, Santander is beginning the process of raising the €20bn of cash needed to fulfil its part of the deal.

The Spanish bank is thought to have been considering a sale of the property assets before the ABN Amro bid. Spanish property prices have been booming and selling the property would unleash gains for Santander, which intends to lease back the properties it sells. The one property excluded from the deal is the official headquarters in Paseo de Pereda where Santander was founded 150 years ago.

It is not certain that Santander will actually need the cash to fund a bid for ABN Amro as the circumstances surrounding the offer are very complicated. Sphere: Related Content

deCODE Genetics Completes $25 Million Sale Leaseback of Chicago Facility

deCODE Web Site - June 12, 2007

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN) today announced that it has completed a sale and leaseback of its Woodridge, Illinois medicinal chemistry facility. The company sold the facility for $25 million and has entered into a lease with an initial term of 17 years. After costs associated with the outstanding mortgage on the facility, taxes and expenses, deCODE netted $18.4 million, resources the company can now apply to its drug and diagnostic development programs.

(deCODEs 8-K filing of June 12 states that the initial rent under the absolute net lease was $163,083.33 per month (7.83% cap rate) subject to annual rent increases of 2.5%, and two 5 year renewal options with rent at the then prevailing market rate.) Sphere: Related Content

85 Somerfield Petrol Stations in UK Offered for £200 Million

Rapleys / Financial Times - June 8, 2007

Palmer Capital Partners, the venture capital-style property group run by Ray Palmer, has hired agents to sell 85 petrol stations let to Somerfield, the supermarket group. The portfolio is being marketed through agents CB Richard Ellis and Rapleys at a price of £200m, a yield of about 5.5 per cent. If achieved, it would mark a big profit on the £70m paid for an initial 140 properties two years ago.

In April 2005, PCP joined forces with Somerfield and partner RREEF, the property investment wing of Deutsche Bank, to buy the assets from oil group Chevron. Somerfield agreed to remain on the sites for 20 years under a reverse sale-and-leaseback deal. Since then, property values have soared.

The owners have spent £50m expanding and revamping many of the sites - at an average of £750,000 each. The estate has grown from 65,000 sq ft to about 110,000 sq ft with a target of 143,000 sq ft by the end of the year. Sphere: Related Content

Quick Restaurants Agrees to $428 Million Sale Leaseback of 102 Outlets Across France

Bloomberg - June 6, 2007

Fonciere des Murs SCA, which buys buildings and leases them back to their previous owners, agreed to purchase 102 outlets across France from the Quick Restaurants fast food chain for 316 million euros ($428 million).

Quick Restaurants, acquired earlier this year by France's state-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, will lease back the restaurants for 12 years, paying an initial annual rent of 18 million euros, Paris-based Fonciere des Murs said in an e- mailed statement today. Sphere: Related Content

Pep Boys Ponders $1 Billion Sale Leaseback of Store Portfolio

Automotive Week/The Greensheet - June 1, 2007

Pep Boys management is asking for patience from the financial community as it is working on a long-term strategic plan to grow the business. During a recent conference call to discuss its first-quarter financial results, Jeff Rachor — the new president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Pep Boys — said he is working with the company’s senior leadership team and board of directors to define the company’s purpose and develop a plan.

“One reason our company’s return on invested capital has struggled is the relatively-heavy asset base that we carry,” Rachor said. “Since last year, the company has been developing a program to address this opportunity.”

He said Pep Boys is now in a position to move forward. “In my early assessment of Pep Boys, I always questioned the need to have such a large portfolio of owned properties and even secondary assets, such as our distribution centers, office buildings and company-owned life insurance,” Rachor explained. Pep Boys owns 323 of its 593 stores. According to a Pep Boys appraisal conducted at the close of 2004, those owned properties had a value of around $900 million. Harry Yanowitz, senior vice president and CFO, estimates that the properties are currently worth more than $1 billion. The company has an additional 200 ground-link stores, meaning that Pep Boys owns the building on top of the land and controls the property. Many of these leases were struck 15-20 years ago.

“We are very fortunate that many of these assets have appreciated materially from their original purchase values. There are several options available to the company to monetize these assets, including sale-leaseback transactions, outright sales and taking advantage of below-margin long-term leases,” Rachor said. “We are completing a process — supported by external real estate advisory specialists — to analyze each of our owned and leased locations to determine how to most efficiently evaluate our properties in a manner that will allow us to maximize shareholder value.” Sphere: Related Content

Sunny Delight Completes $58 Million Sale Leaseback of Three Bottling Facilities

Commercial Property News - May 30, 2007

Angelo, Gordon & Co., acting through its dedicated Net Lease Group, AG Net Lease, has wrapped up the purchase of three industrial properties through a $58 million sale-leaseback transaction with Sunny Delight Beverages Co. The properties, located in three different states, account for an aggregate 732,000 square feet.

The transaction allows Sunny Delight, which was acquired by private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates L.P. three years ago, to continue utilizing the space for its domestic bottling activities while pocketing--after paying down senior debt--a substantial amount of capital to invest in business growth. The assets involved include a 295,000-square-foot facility in Dayton, N.J.; a 265,000-square-foot property in Atlanta, Ga.; and a 172,000-square-foot property in Anaheim, Calif. Calif. (pictured). Constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, all three facilities have undergone recent upgrades. Sphere: Related Content

Telekom Malaysia Berhad Proposes $320 Million Islamic Sale Leaseback Transaction of Four Office Buildings

Bursa Malaysia Web Site - May 25, 2007

Telekom Malaysia Berhad wishes to announce a proposed Islamic Sale and Leaseback ransaction involving the issuance of up to RM1,100 million ($320 Million) Islamic Trust Certificates ('Sukuk'), details of which are set out below.

The Proposed Transaction involves the sale of four (4) of its property assets at a total value of up to RM1,100 million to Menara ABS Berhad, a special purpose vehicle. The Properties identified are known as Menara TM, Menara Celcom, Cyberjaya Complex and Wisma TM Taman Desa. Subsequent to the sale, the Properties will then be leased back to TM on a portfolio basis, under the Ijarah principle, for a lease term of up to fifteen (15) years.

The Proposed Transaction will involve a true sale transaction with respect to the Properties and an operating lease treatment with respect to the lease arrangement while allowing TM and its group of companies ("TM Group") uninterrupted occupation of its existing premises.

The Proposed Transaction, which will be implemented under the Securities Commission's Guidelines on the Offering of Asset-Backed Securities read together with the Guidelines on the Offering of Islamic Securities, will facilitate the issuance of three (3) different classes of Sukuk in tranches by Menara ABS Berhad. The funds to be raised from the issuance of such Sukuk shall be utilized by Menara ABS Berhad to pay TM for the purchase of the Properties.

The Proposed Transaction will facilitate TM's implementation of its strategy to monetize its non-core assets with a view to further improving operating financial ratios while focusing on its core business of providing telecommunication services.

TM will have the right of first refusal to either re-purchase the Properties or continue with the lease on new terms to be negotiated. Citibank Berhad has been appointed as the Principal Adviser/Lead Arranger for the Proposed Transaction.

An application has been submitted to the Securities Commission for approval of the Proposed Transaction. The Proposal is expected to be completed within six (6) months from the date of the Securities Commission's approval for the Proposed Transaction. Sphere: Related Content

Athens Stock Exchange HQ Sold for EUR 47Million

PropertyEU - May 21, 2007

Babis Vovos International Construction (BVIC) has sold a 12,000 m2 office building development in downtown Athens to German real estate company KanAm Grund for just over EUR 47 mln. The property is part of a three-building office complex under construction on an 8,000 m2 plot.

BVIC, Greece's largest listed property company by market capitalisation, was awarded the development in September 2005, following an open bid process held by the Greek stock exchange operator Hellenic Exchanges. BVIC is developing an office building of 6,700 m2, where all of the stock exchange's departments will relocate. BVIC is the owner of the two other buildings, the 12,000 m2 building and a 5,000 m2 property that has already been sold to insurance company Allianz for EUR 17.5 mln. The sale agreement with KanAm Grund was signed on the 18 May 2007 and the building is to be delivered on the 31 October 2007. Sphere: Related Content

Superquinn Completes €142 Million Sale Leaseback of Six Supermarkets in Ireland

Independent - May 18 2007

Superquinn, the grocer which was purchased by Select Retail Holdings in 2005, has raised €142.5m on a sale and leaseback deal on six stores that will fund further expansion. The company said yesterday that Friends First F&C has agreed an investment of €142.5m in the Superquinn property portfolio.

The cash investment, which is spread across several sites, has allowed a significant reduction in the debt incurred by Select Retail Holdings in the purchase of Superquinn. Select Retail Holdings said this is an important step in enabling the substantial expansion planned for the Superquinn business over the next three years. Superquinn plans to refurbish five more sites and to open three new stores, at a cost of €60m for the year ending April 2008.

Superquinn was founded in 1960 by Feargal Quinn and family. The company currently has 21 stores. In 2005, the company was purchased by Irish consortium Select Retail Holdings, for €420m. Sphere: Related Content

Capio AB Completes £686 Million Sale Leaseback of 21 UK Hospitals

The Times - May 15, 2007

A consortium including HBOS and Sir Tom Hunter, the property tycoon, has paid £686 million for a portfolio of 21 private hospitals from the healthcare operator Capio AB.

The Prestbury consortium is backed by Sir Tom’s West Coast Capital, the Icelandic investor Baugur and Bank of Scotland. The group said that the hospitals would be leased back to Capio on 30-year leases, with an initial rent of £39.5 million a year (i.e. a 5.75% cap rate.)

Capio AB was purchased last year by a private equity consortium comprising Apax Partners, Nordic Capital and Apax France. They have placed a sale and leaseback of the group’s property portfolio at the heart of their future plans for the Sweden-based company, which also operates hospitals in France, Germany, Spain and across Scandinavia.

The deal represents the latest change in the rapidly evolving British hospitals market. BUPA, the UK healthcare giant, is selling its own portfolio of 26 private hospitals for what some observers have estimated could fetch as much as £1.4 billion.

Prestbury has completed a number of similar sale and leaseback deals recently. They include 220 pubs from Spirit Group, now Punch Taverns, for £500 million, as well as two portfolios of hotels from Travelodge for £527 million and the Bank of Scotland’s London HQ for £140 million.

HBOS has worked with Sir Tom on a number of deals, including bids for McCarthy & Stone, the retirement homes company, House of Fraser, the retailer, and Wyevale, the garden centre chain. Sphere: Related Content

Nomura Seeking $466 Million For Sale Leaseback of London HQ

Bloomberg - May 8, 2007

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest securities firm, put its London headquarters building on sale for at least 234 million pounds ($466 million).

Real estate consultant Drivers Jonas said in an e-mailed statement today that it has been hired to sell No.1 St. Martin's Le Grand, an office tower containing 275,000 square feet of space near St. Paul's Cathedral, which Nomura intends to lease back.

Nomura is the latest firm to plan a sale and leaseback of its headquarters to take advantage of escalating prices for office buildings in central London. Spanish real estate company Metrovacesa SA set a record for a single building in the U.K. last month, when it bought HSBC Holdings Plc's Docklands headquarters for 1.09 billion pounds.

Details of Nomura's initial investment in the building weren't immediately available. Annual rental income would represent about 4.75 percent of the initial asking price and will grow 3 percent annually, Drivers Jonas said.

Central London offices were the best-performing sector of the U.K. commercial real estate market in the first quarter, as a shortage of available space lifted rents by almost 5 percent for new or freshly refurbished properties, CB Richard Ellis said. In the City of London district, the main financial district, rents have climbed 19 percent to 59 pounds a square foot by the end of March from a year earlier. Sphere: Related Content

Deutsche Bank Enters $1.18 Billion Sale Leaseback of Manhattan HQ

Commercial Property News - May 4, 2007

The Paramount Group has purchased 60 Wall Street from Deutsche Bank for $1.18 billion in a 15 year sale leaseback agreement. The 47-story, 1.6-million-square-foot building sold for $750 per square foot, a record for lower Manhattan. The sale price is nearly double the $610 million Deutsche Bank paid for the building in 2001. Deutsche Bank will keep its North American headquarters in the 19-year-old building as part of the agreement.

"The sale enables us to redeploy our capital to our operating businesses while realizing an attractive return for our shareholders," a Deutsche Bank spokesperson told CPN today.

The sale of the property is expected to produce a pretax gain of approximately $435 million in 2007. Deutsche Bank's Commercial Real Estate Group is providing financing to Paramount for the transaction. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as advisor to the bank and CB Richard Ellis Inc. provided real estate consulting services.

Built in 1988 by JP Morgan, it served as that company's headquarters until its merger with Chase. Sphere: Related Content

84 Lumber Completes $200 million Sale Leaseback of 53 Wholesale/Retail Sites

84 Lumber Web Site - May 2, 2007

Spirit Finance Corporation, a real estate investment trust focused on single tenant real estate, today announced that it completed a $200 million sale/leaseback transaction with affiliates of 84 Lumber Company, the nation’s leading privately held materials and services supplier to professional builders.

The acquisition was partially funded with a $150 million long-term fixed-rate mortgage note financed through Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc. and secured by the real estate assets acquired. Spirit purchased 53 wholesale/retail lumber sales and supply centers and one truss manufacturing plant. A subsidiary of 84 Lumber Company has agreed to lease the properties for an initial period of 20 years, subject to a master lease with a multi-windowed purchase option and multiple renewal options. Sphere: Related Content

HSBC Completes $2.2 Billion Sale Leaseback of London HQ

Bloomberg - April 30, 2007

The London headquarters of HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank by market value, was bought by Spanish real estate company Metrovacesa SA for 1.09 billion pounds ($2.2 billion), a record for a U.K. building.

HSBC will remain in the 45-story tower at 8 Canada Square, in the Canary Wharf business district, according to a statement today. About 8,000 people work in the building, which was designed by Norman Foster and has 1.1 million square feet of space.

"People are prepared to pay a premium to get into the London market, even when some are calling the top of the market," said Sarah Bate, head of central London research at Knight Frank LLP.

Central London is now the world's most expensive city in which to lease an office and, according to an estimate by Bate, investors bought a record 15.3 billion pounds of properties in the area last year. A shortage of space is pushing up rents as financial-services firms hire more people.

The previous record for the acquisition of a U.K. office building was the 690 million pounds paid in 2003 by Royal Bank of Scotland Plc for Citigroup Inc.'s London headquarters. That property is on the opposite side of the same square at Canary Wharf development as the HSBC Tower.

HSBC agreed to sell and lease back the building from Madrid-based Metrovacesa for the next 20 years, paying an initial annual rent of 43.5 million pounds, or 3.99 percent of the purchase price. HSBC's long-term debt is rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA- by Standard & Poor's.

Rents for new or freshly renovated offices in the City of London district, London's main financial services center, last year rose by more than 18 percent to 55 pounds a square foot, according to Knight Frank.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., the world's biggest brokerage, is considering a sale and leaseback of its London headquarters building to take advantage of record property prices in the city. GIC Real Estate Private Ltd., the real estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore, may buy the building for about 600 million pounds, the Financial Times reported earlier this month. Neither Merrill Lynch nor GIC would comment on the report.

In February, the London office tower dubbed ``the Gherkin'' was bought by IVG Immobilien AG and Evans Randall Investment Management Ltd. for 600 million pounds. The Gherkin was also designed by Foster.

CB Richard Ellis Inc. and Freshfields LLC advised HSBC on the sale of the property. Sphere: Related Content

Travelodge Completes £128m Sale Leaseback of 17 UK Hotels

The Times - April 28, 2007

Travelodge, the budget hotel operator controlled by Dubai International Capital (DIC), has raised £128 million through a sale and leaseback of 17 of its hotels, The Times has learnt.

The company, which operates 314 hotels, the majority in the UK, is selling the underlying property assets to Prestbury, the property investment vehicle controlled by Nick Leslau. It will lease back the hotels for periods of between 25 years and 35 years.

It is the second sale and leaseback Travelodge has signed with Prestbury. Three years ago it raised £400 million from the dispsoal of 136 hotels to Mr Leslau’s vehicle, enbling it to step up its rapid rate of expansion. The 17 hotels in the latest deal, two of which are in London, are properties that have been added to the chain since the first transaction. About £100 million of the proceeds will be used to reduce Travelodge’s £500 million debt burden, with the balance to be invested in expansion.

Mr Leslau is expected to inject both packages of Travelodge properties into the £2 billion real estate investment trust (Reit) that he is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange. The Reit also includes properties run by Punch Taverns and Southern Cross Healthcare. Sphere: Related Content

Threshers Completes £200 Million Sale Leaseback of Retail Portfolio

Telegraph - April 27, 2007

Guy Hands' private equity house Terra Firma has raised £200m from the sale-and-leaseback of part of the property estate of off-licence chain Threshers.

It is understood that Terra Firma, which this week pulled out of the race to buy Alliance Boots, raised the money through a number of tranches of property sales earlier this year and late last year. But it is known that those sales have now come to an end and it is thought no further sell-offs are planned at the moment.

Terra Firma first invested in the Thresher Group in October 2000, buying it from Whitbread and Punch for £225m. Since then it has been reinvented somewhat, and has expanded organically and through site acquisitions, the most recent being the December 2005 purchase of 200 former Unwins stores.

Through its various retail brands - which include Wine Rack and Haddows in Scotland - the business owns 2,000 shops and employs more than 12,000 people.

It is not thought that the sale-and-leasebacks, masterminded by Threshers' property director Stephen Masters, are likely to lead to any form of corporate action involving a trade sale or a float. However, given the length of time Terra Firma has owned the business, nothing should be ruled out. Sphere: Related Content

Jardiland Completes €242 Million Sale Leaseback of 57 Gardening Centers in France

Fonciere des Murs Web Site - April 24, 2007

Fonciere des Murs has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a portfolio of 57 gardening centres operated by the Jardiland group for €242m, including transfer duties and transaction costs. The property assets, operated by the leading garden centre retail chain in France, are located across the country and represent two thirds of Jardiland's garden centre asset base.

Triple net leases were signed on the properties for a firm period of 12 years. The leases, which may be renewed up three times every nine years, carry indexed fixed rents representing annual rental income of €15.2m (i.e. a 6.3% cap rate), net of VAT.

A partnership agreement will be drawn up as part of the transaction enabling Jardiland to benefit from Fonciere des Murs' skills in forging partnerships, to accommodate Jardiland's growth. The transaction will be carried out in the form of a sale and leaseback operation. Sphere: Related Content

Citibank Seeking Sale Leaseback of 24 Bank Branches in New York City Area

GlobeSt.com - April 24, 2007

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is marketing a 24-branch sale-leaseback transaction through Newmark Knight Frank. The properties are all centered in the New York City metro area.

“The portfolio consists of 214,000 sf,” says Kenneth Zakin, senior managing director of NKF. “Thirteen of the properties are leased only to Citibank, and 11 are anchored by Citibank but have other retail or office tenants. Each building, once sold, will be leased back to Citibank for 15 years, on separate leases. We’re offering the buildings as a package, or as individual properties, or they could be broken up into several smaller portfolios.”

Zakin tells GlobeSt.com that four of the properties are located in Manhattan, Brooklyn houses six locations, Queens four, the Bronx three, Westchester one, and the remaining properties are in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The properties range in size from 2,500 sf to 30,000 sf. Zakin says the best sites are those located in Manhattan. “They are really extraordinary branches.”

There is no asking price for the portfolio as the deal will be conducted through a bidding process. The initial bids will be collected by the end of the month, Zakin says. He expects bidders to be varied due to the quality of the portfolio.

He goes on to say, “This is an especially attractive portfolio in that you very rarely see so much space, so diversified by location throughout the New York metro area, all of it occupied by a credit tenant like Citibank, which is rated AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and Aaa by Moody’s,” Zakin remarks. Sphere: Related Content

Mercury Computer Systems Announces $26.5 Million Sale Leaseback of HQ in Chelmsford, MA

Mercury Computer Systems Web Site - April 23, 2007

Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY) announced the completion of the sale and leaseback of its property located in Chelmsford, MA. The company received net cash proceeds of approximately $26.5 million from the sale of the property. The transaction includes a leaseback agreement with an initial term of 10 years, plus multiple renewal options. The property will continue to house Mercury’s corporate headquarters.


April 23, 2007 8-K Filing The annual rent for the first five years is $1,945,933.50 (7.35% cap rate) and increases by 10% for the remaining five years. The company also delivered a security deposit in the form of a $3,000,000 standby letter of credit which will remain in effect for the entire term of the lease. Sphere: Related Content

Pierre & Vacances Planning Sale Leaseback of Four Holiday Villages in Belgium

Pierre & Vacances Web Site - April 20, 2007

Pierre & Vacances Group has reached an agreement to acquire Belgian group Sunparks. The acquisition fits entirely with the core focus of the development strategy in place at Center Parcs Europe by bolstering its positions, adding four holiday villages similar to Center Parcs, in the three/four star category in Belgium.

Sunparks owns the freehold and operations of four holiday villages similar to Center Parcs, in thethree/four star category. Two villages are located in seaside resorts in the North Sea, one in the Ardennes region and one in Campine. The group offers a total of 1,683 cottages and 50 hotel rooms as well as a number of covered central facilities (aqua-centre, restaurant, supermarket, childrens’ play centres etc.), and open-air sports complexes.

Center Parcs Europe currently operates 16 villages, 12 of which in the five-star category and four in the three/four-star category.

The acquisition of Sunparks is based on an enterprise value (including debt) of €150 million. In line with the group’s policy not to own the assets it operates, the Sunparks assets are likely to be sold off before the end of the year as part of a sale and lease-back operation currently being negotiated. Sphere: Related Content

Joe’s Crab Shack Completes Sale Leaseback of 29 Restaurants

Memphis Daily News - April 12, 2007

A local Joe’s Crab Shack site is among 29 that have been bought by Princeton, N.J.-based Sovereign Investment Co.

The private principal equity investment firm, working under the name Sovereign JCS II LLC, paid $2.5 million for the Joe’s real estate at 7990 Horizon Blvd. in The Commons at Wolfchase shopping center. In conjunction, a $2.8 million loan was filed through BMO Capital Markets Corp. The seller was J.H. Whitney Capital Partners Inc. under an entity named Joe’s Crab Shack Real Estate Holding Inc.

The restaurant was among 120 Joe’s affected by a 2006 sell-off by Joe’s parent company Landry’s Restaurants Inc. Of the 120, the 29 in the Sovereign portfolio include all the locations for which Joe’s parent company owned the sites, said Sovereign’s vice president of acquisitions Barry Bain, emphasizing the purchase included only the real estate on which the restaurants are located. “The others were already leased stores (and) these were the only remaining 29 which the real estate was owned, so we purchased the real estate and leased it back to them on a long-term basis,” Bain said.

“We’re going to be selling some of the locations to retail investors, 1031 exchange buyers. ... (The Memphis) one will be sold as well eventually, probably within the next 12 months,” he said. Sphere: Related Content

Coles Group Ponders $100 Million in Sale Leaseback Deal in Australia

Sydney Morning Herald - April 14, 2007

Any new owner of Coles Group could make a very quick $100 million-plus through the sale of properties the retailer has on in its books.

And given the scarcity of supply of retail properties across the country, all the major property trusts such as Westfield, Stockland, GPT, Mirvac and CFS Retail, and possibly some smaller players, would snap up the sites without hesitation.

Big private equity players, which along with Wesfarmers are showing interest in the Coles auction, are quick to review the status of idle assets, such as land and buildings, and put them on the market. It is the cheapest and quickest way to raise cash.

A review of Coles's portfolio shows it has in excess of $100 million of property sitting on its balance sheet, predominantly in NSW. The group also has shopping centres in Western Australia and Victoria.

But it has made no secret of its hopes to follow other businesses in selling the property and leasing it back, then using the cash to expand its core retail operations.

Already the landlords are in the market vying for Myer's landmark Melbourne CBD complex in a sale expected to be worth up to $450 million.

Westfield is said to be firming up as the favourite, although GPT is also very keen given its ownership of the nearby Melbourne Central shopping centre between Elizabeth and La Trobe streets in Melbourne.

Myer, which will lease back the property, said at its results presentation recently that it was willing to pay $18.25 million in annual rent. Myer's chairman, Bill Wavish, said the new owner should be known mid-year.

Myer is also selling some of its last remaining property assets: stores at Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and Bendigo and will also lease back the three stores. The portfolio is expected to fetch up to $55 million. Sphere: Related Content

HSBC Signs Build-to-Suit Agreement for HQ Annex in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia Star - April 11, 2007

HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd does not easily forget its roots as proven by its decision to remain at the spot it started 123 years ago.

Rather than relocate to newer and bigger premises to cater to further business expansion, it has chosen to lease a new 24-storey building that will be an annexe to its current headquarters in Leboh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Deputy chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Zarir J. Cama said: “This (Leboh Ampang) was the spot on which HSBC started 123 years ago and we have really prospered during these years. “Our feng shui here has been very good and I am not going to disrupt it.” He said it was much more cost effective for the group to refurbish and rent a new building than to move to another place.

Zarir was speaking after signing an agreement with Quill group of companies on the lease for the new HSBC building yesterday. The Quill group will design and build the 265,000-sq-ft building and then lease it to HSBC. Besides the annexe, the HSBC headquarters will also get a facelift.

Quill group executive director Datuk Michael Ong said HSBC Malaysia would be taking a 15-year lease on the Grade A office building, which is expected to cost RM100mil to develop. Construction is expected to start in June for completion by the first quarter 2010. Sphere: Related Content

Microsoft Preleases 1.3 Million Sq. Ft. in Five Buildings Under Construction in Bellevue, WA

GlobeSt.com - April 6, 2007

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it has inked long-term leases for the entirety of two under-construction office developments here totaling 1.3 million sf. Headquartered in the neighboring Redmond, the public software company says it has leased the 740,000-sf Bravern Office Commons next to Meydenbauer Center in Downtown Bellevue and the 600,000-sf Advanta Office Commons adjacent to Interstate 90 in southeast Bellevue.

Tom Bohman, senior director of the Bellevue office of Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com the lease is the largest one-time transaction in the history of not just Bellevue but the entire Seattle region. Rental rates may also set a record in the near future.

The exact length of Microsoft’s commitment, the negotiated lease rates and the concession package were not released by the parties involved and not otherwise immediately available. The asking full-service rental rate for the Advanta development was approximately $35 per sf per year. The asking net lease rate for Bravern was $25 to $28 per sf, which would put the full-service rate (building services and parking) there above $40 per sf. Microsoft surely received a healthy bulk discount, say local brokers. "To unload something of that size, [Schnitzer Northwest] had to have reasonable market terms," says one source.

Microsoft says its leasing activity is in addition to plans for an accelerated expansion of its headquarters campus that were announced in February 2006. Later in 2006, the company leased 320,000 sf at Kemper Development's newest Downtown development Lincoln Square and another 87,000 sf at Eastpointe Corporate Center.

“Microsoft continues to grow at a rapid pace…,” says the company’s general manager of real estate Chris Owens. “Adding additional work space in Puget Sound, the company’s center of gravity, helps address our current space limitations and ensures that we are prepared for future growth.”

Microsoft likely will begin occupying Advanta late this year and the Bravern late next year. The two projects are developments of Schnitzer Northwest LLC, a Bellevue-based partnership that includes Portland, OR-based Schnitzer Investment Corp. and Dan Ivanoff. Sphere: Related Content

AT&T Completes $53 Million Sale Leaseback of Cleveland Office Tower

The Plain Dealer - April 5, 2007

The latest prize in what has become a derby for downtown Cleveland office property: the 16-story AT&T building at Erieview Plaza.

Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. of Chicago has paid $53 million for the San Antonio phone company's Northeast Ohio base, AT&T spokesman Bob Beasley said. The deal includes more than 450,000 square feet of office space and an attached 290-space garage.

AT&T will keep its roughly 1,100 employees - mostly administrative and call-center workers - in the building for at least 10 years as part of the sale-leaseback deal.

Previously known to Cleveland-area customers as SBC Communications, Ameritech and Ohio Bell, AT&T had amassed a surplus of property through a series of mergers. Beasley noted the company does not own its national headquarters campus in San Antonio.

More significant to the local real estate market, the AT&T building is the latest in a line of downtown office complexes to change hands. Since 2005, new owners collectively have spent more than $500 million on five properties, including the city's top trophies: the BP and Key towers.

Other downtown office towers that have sold include Fifth Third Center and the old East Ohio Gas Building. Another, Eaton Center, was put on the market in January.

"This is the best market I've seen in years," said David Browning, regional managing director for CB Richard Ellis, the firm that represented AT&T in the deal. Sphere: Related Content

Natrol Completes $26 Million Sale Leaseback of HQ in CA

Natrol Web Site - April 5, 2007

Natrol, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTOL), a premier manufacturer and marketer of nationally branded nutritional products, today announced that it has closed on a sale/leaseback transaction with an affiliate of TA Associates Realty for its corporate headquarters and shipping facilities, both located in Chatsworth, California. The sale price of the real estate was $26 million. After paying off the associated mortgage debt, taxes and expenses that relate to the transaction, the Company received approximately $12 million in free cash at closing.

“During the last year, we have been a disciplined company, building profits quarter by quarter,” said Wayne Bos, Natrol’s President and CEO when making the announcement. “We unlocked a hidden asset, our real estate. Twelve million dollars equates to approximately 30% of our current market capitalization. We believe that releasing the cash will help us drive capitalization up by utilizing what was a dormant resource to stimulate growth. We believe this will benefit our shareholders. We understand the importance of leveraging the cash generated to make the type of strategic investments to drive top line growth and meaningful profits.”

The Company will continue to occupy the two facilities, leasing back the space at market rates for a 5-year term, with two 5-year renewal options. Approximately half of the gain on the sale will be recorded in the second quarter of 2007. The remainder will be amortized over 5 years and will offset rental expenses per US GAAP rules. Sphere: Related Content

Cable & Wireless Enters £88 Million Sale Leaseback of Nine Network Properties

Cable & Wireless Web Site - April 2, 2007

Cable & Wireless announces that it has today completed a 25 year sale and leaseback agreement with British Land of a portion of its property portfolio. The deal covers nine properties used as network sites in the UK. Cable & Wireless will receive £88m.

Lease payments for the first five years will be £4.54m per year and subject to five yearly reviews thereafter. These amounts were not included in Cable & Wireless’ cash guidance of November 8 2006.

Jim Marsh, CEO of Cable & Wireless UK, said: “Our number one priority is to deliver excellent service to our top end customers. We’re transforming our business to do just that – and as part of that transformation, we’ve taken a close look at all of our assets.

“This deal makes good commercial sense in that it takes advantage of the buoyant property market and releases capital to the business.” Sphere: Related Content

Deutsche Securities Creates Fund Seeking Sale Leasebacks With Hospitals in Japan

MarketWatch - April 3, 2007

Deutsche Securities said Tuesday it will establish an investment fund specializing in hospital real estate management in collaboration with Itochu Corp. by the end of this month as the Topix real estate investment trust, or REIT, index reached a new lifetime high Monday. The fund will be capitalized at Y300 million, with the two firms each committing Y100 million and the remainder coming from other parties.

"We are looking to set up a fund which can combine our financing know-how with Itochu's depth of experience in the Japanese healthcare field," said a spokesman for Deutsche in Tokyo. Although the Deutsche-Itochu venture is being set up initially as a private fund, a spokesman for the German financial firm said it was looking at the possibility of converting the fund into a REIT in the future.

Deutsche's latest foray into Japan's real estate market comes as the 4-year-old Topix REIT index hit a lifetime high of 2492.92 yesterday. It is up by more than 47% since the end of last September as investors flocked to the sector, attracted by the comparatively high-yields offered by REITs in Japan's ultra-low interest rate environment.

Deutsche said the fund, which will buy real estate from hospitals with the aim of managing properties and leasing them back to the hospitals, would give its investors' exposure to Japan's growing economic recovery outside its major cities. The venture also underscores growing interest among real estate investors in moving outside of central business district properties in Japan's major cities now that many of these areas are tapped out, say analysts.

The brokerage also said that real estate funds are increasingly having to look at alternatives "outside of Tokyo, where competition for properties is less intense and yields are higher." Sphere: Related Content

M&B to Raise £1.1 Billion in Sale Leaseback of UK Pub Estate?

Morning Advertiser - March 30, 2007

Mitchells & Butlers could follow the example of Tesco by creating a joint venture property company that crystalises property value but avoids a full conversion to a real estate investment trust, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Geof Collyer.

A move by M&B to copy the Tesco model would release as much as £950m - 220p a share -to hand back to shareholders, he said. Tesco banked £570m of cash last week after injecting sites worth £366m at book value into a joint venture with British Land. Both parties put in £80m of equity each and the properties were revalued at £650m and leased back to Tesco at an initial yield of 4.46%.

The deal was broadly profit-and-loss neutral with Tesco planning to return most of the £570m to shareholders. Tesco retained a call option that allows it to buy back the properties in ten years’ time.

Collyer said that M&B could sell 20% of its estate, worth £625m at 1999 book value, into a joint venture like the Tesco one and raise £1.1bn less the equity - around £137m - it injected into the joint venture. He added: “This would leave it with over £950m to hand back to shareholders. “This is equivalent to about 30% of the group’s current market capitalisation.

“This would leave M&B with scope for further asset revaluations - notably from the Whitbread pub conversions - and retain control over an estate that would be 70% freehold /30% leasehold with an option to buy back 20% in ten years’ time.”

Collyer noted the Tesco deal “seems to be a way of crystalising current property values whilst retaining at least 50% ownership and control over the properties versus a maximum of 10% ownership under a Reit structure”. Sphere: Related Content

ABN Amro’s London HQ Nearing Sale for £180 Million

Citywire Blogs - March 30, 2007

From Property Week

ABN Amro’s London headquarters is to be bought by fund manager Prupim in a deal that will reflect one of the lowest ever yields in the City of London.

In an off-market deal that is expected to complete next week, the fund manager has paid more than £180m for the building at 250 Bishopsgate, at a yield close to 4%, from Mayfair-based investment bank Evans Randall.

Although buildings have been sold for lower than 4% in the City, they tend to have vacant floors or other asset management angles.

So what's the investment angle for Prupim when the yield is so meagre and you can more income (and less hassle) from a cash ISA?

Prupim’s property arm has been working with its fixed income team to buy buildings for its annuity business with long leases and index-linked rental increases that are let to companies with good credit ratings. Sphere: Related Content