The latest Property Finance News http://www.devono.com/ 2010-03-11T00:00:00Z Commercial property in London worth upwards of £500 million has been placed on the market as Syrian billionaire Simon Halabi seeks to settle an enormous bill for loans and unpaid taxes. The selection comprises some of the most expensive and desirable office space in the capital, including Aviva Tower and JPMorgan’s London headquarters ... http://www.devono.com/News/-Pressure-from-huge-bills-hits-Halabi-portfolio/19035179/ 2009-10-26 18:10:53 London-based property developer Minerva have successfully managed to restructure £750 million of debt, gaining two years of breathing space in the process. Having been particularly badly hit by the credit crunch, which saw commercial property values plummet in the capital and elsewhere around the world, commentators have speculated whether t... http://www.devono.com/News/Developer-Minerva-secures-major-debt-restructuring/19035168/ 2009-09-28 10:10:59 Songbird Estates has been saved from bankruptcy by the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation.Songbird is the majority owner of Canary Wharf, the huge development in London’s Tower Hamlets that now competes with the Square Mile in providing prime office space for the major financial institutions of the w... http://www.devono.com/News/China-Investment-Corp-takes-up-Songbird-share-issue/19035161/ 2009-09-12 11:09:08 Property development and investment group Hammerson have announced the departure of their CEO, John Richards.The news coincides with the release of poor business results; losses for the group doubled for the first two quarters of 2009. On 31 December 2008 the REIT’s property portfolio was valued at £6.5 billion.Since then it has fallen ... http://www.devono.com/News/Hammerson-losses-mount-as-chief-executive-leaves/19035146/ 2009-08-05 13:08:18 Ratings agency Moody’s has warned that the Citypoint tower in London is valued at far less than the cost of its loan, which is ‘very likely to default either during its term or on its maturity date in 2017.’The Citypoint tower houses over 700,000 square feet of office space in Ropemaker Street. The building was purchased for &poun... http://www.devono.com/News/Citypoint-Tower-'in-negative-equity'/19035138/ 2009-07-17 10:07:46 Land Securities, the biggest property company in Europe, has completed its sale of 1, Wood Street, to the fund manager Aerium Finance. The London property houses over 175,000 square feet of office space, which is let to Eversheds, one of the largest law firms in the world.The building was completed in 2007 at the height of the property boom, and it... http://www.devono.com/News/Land-Securities-sells-One-Wood-Street/19035134/ 2009-07-08 16:07:37 Billionaire property tycoon Simon Halabi has reportedly defaulted on £1.15 billion of loans on his London property portfolio. Prices for commercial property in the capital have fallen by around 40 percent in the last two years, and the portfolio that was once worth approaching £2 billion has recently been valued at £929 million. T... http://www.devono.com/News/Tycoon-Halabi-'defaults-on-giant-loan'/19035133/ 2009-07-06 10:07:33 Two significant office building deals have raised expectations for London’s commercial property market. So far this year, sales of commercial property have been the lowest on record. However, the deals being discussed on behalf of UBS and Standard Life would raise a total of £285 million. The first is Standard Life’s building at ... http://www.devono.com/News/Major-office-deals-raise-cash-and-hopes/19035122/ 2009-06-05 10:06:45 European real estate company Hammerson has secured a further three tenants for its 125 Broad Street development in London, adding another 45,000 square feet of let space to its books.The Broad Street building comprises 320,000 square feet of grade-A London office space and a further 13,000 square feet of retail and storage space. The new tenants ra... http://www.devono.com/News/Hammerson-signs-another-45000-square-feet/19035121/ 2009-06-03 10:06:57 Asset management company Henderson Global Investors is to create a second fund to take advantage of current commercial property prices in central London. The fund, named CLOF II (Central London Offices Fund II), will invest in properties in key locations and will look to return around 12%. Henderson are hoping to raise £200 million equity fr... http://www.devono.com/News/Henderson-to-invest-in-central-London-office-space/19035115/ 2009-05-16 10:05:46