Slovenia’s economic challenges have dampened commercial real estate activity in the capital Ljubljana, though retail is holding up, published international real estate advisor Jones Lang LaSalle. JLL also said that the government needs to carry out more austerity measures to get the economy back on track.

The rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) put Sava Re on its negative watch list (BBB+). This was due to the acquisition of 50.99 percent in Zavarovalnica Maribor (ZM). According to S&P, Sava Re could benefit significantly from this transaction, which, however, carries an execution risk.

After its regular periodic review, S&P decided to keep Sava Re on its negative watch list (CreditWatch with negative implications). In the next three months, it intends to resolve the CreditWatch placement of the reinsurance company. By then, it anticipates that Sava Re will have executed the capital increase, which will give S&P a clearer understanding of Sava Re's ability to acquire the remaining shares in ZM from Slovenska odškodninska družba (SOD). S&P could lower Sava Re's rating by one notch if the capital increase is only partially successful or unsuccessful or if ZM's integration weakens the company's consolidated capital adequacy. Market Capitalisation of Sava RE (POSR) on Ljubljan Stock Exchange on 18.3.2013 was EUR 70 million.

Slovenian Securities Market Agency approved the prospectus where third largest Slovenian bank Abanka Vipa d.d.  can issue shares in total minimum issue value of EUR 50,000,000.40 and maximum issue value of EUR 90,000,002.40. Most likely the shares will be purchased by existing, state related owners.

The international rating agency Capital Intelligence amended Abanka’s credit rating on 21 December 2012. The agency assigned Abanka the following ratings: a Long-Term Issuer Rating of "BB", a Short-Term Issuer Rating of "B"', a Financial Strength Rating of "BB" and a "Negative" Outlook.  The agency also confirmed the Bank’s Support Rating of "4".

US REIT W. P. Carey has acquired eight retail stores in Croatia for €34.6m to be leased back to regional food and drink producer and retailer Agrokor, bringing its total sale-leaseback deals with Agrokor to €192m in three years.

Last week Sava Re concluded the negotiations for the purchase of a 51% stake in Zavarovalnica Maribor. Thereby, the Sava Re Group became the second largest insurance group in Slovenia, which is an basis for further growth, enhancing both financial strength and stability - in first nine months of 2012 Group generated solid premium growth (+6,7%). For financing the acquisition the increase of share capital by EUR 55 million through a public offering of shares is planned.

Founded in 1993, H.I.G. has found success in continuing to target a range of businesses related to the manufacturing and services sectors. It has been six years since H.I.G. Capital's last appearance on the fundraising circuit for its flagship fund, but the Miami firm, whose portfolio stretches across sectors such as consumer products, manufacturing and health care, is returning to the trail to raise a fifth buyout fund. In Slovenian H.I.G. is present via company Lumar I.G., Maribor, producer of prefabricated houses.

Daughter company of Cimos Plc Koper, Litostroj Power Ltd will most likely not be sold to Private Equity Innova Capital from Poland. Initial offer of the Innova was EUR 40 million, however newspaper Dnevnik disclosed, that value of the offer was in those days decrease to almost half of that amount. Most likely the financial problems of Cimos Group will be sold via capital increase in the amount of EUR 8 million, where most of the Equity will be paid by Slovenian State related entities.

Largest Slovenian and important regional retailer Mercator Group exceeded EUR 2.1 billion of revenue in the period Q3 2012, which is approximately the same as in the corresponding period last year. Revenue in Slovenia dropped by 2% while in international markets, it rose by 4.4%.

Economic slowdown in the region, persisting debt crisis, drop in Slovenian import and export, and negative changes in exchange rates in Serbia had a strong negative impact on Mercator Group performance. As a result, Mercator Group saw a loss of EUR 22 million in the period Q3 2012.

One of the largest Slovenian Insurance Companies, Zavarovalnica Maribor is on sale. It troubled owner, second largest Slovenian bank Nova KBM (NKBM) needs by the end of the 2012 at least EUR 100 million of fresh capital and part of it should came also from Zavarovalnica Maribor. In recent weeks Due Diligence of ZM was executed by Austrian insurance company Grawe, local Reinsurance company Pozavarovalnica Sava and local financial holding KD Group. The binding offers have to be submitted by Wednesday, the 7th.

Listed eastern European developer and investor Orco Property Group said it has received notifications of shareholdings totalling 20.69% acquired by two offshore companies - British Virgin Islands-registered Crestline Ventures Corp and Cyprus-based Gamala. An unconfirmed local news report said Czech property tycoon Radovan Vitek is behind the purchases. Orco has presence also in Croatian tourist segment via Sunčani Hvar project.

U.S.A. private equity fund HIG Capital said its European affiliate reached an agreement to acquire nearly half of a subsidiary of Spanish audiovisual company Vértice 360 SA for EUR 16 million. HIG Capital Europe is present also in Slovenia via investment in the company Lumar IG d.o.o. Maribor, the leading Slovenian manufacturer of prefabricated houses.

In Friday Slovenian bank Probanka got new Management. Its previous head of Management Board, Mrs. Pajenk and Mrs. Lah were dismissed due to negative performance and unclear plans for the future. New CEO of the bank is Mr. Kos. It is not clear, what is present size of Probanka balance sheet, but according to the data  Q2 2012, it should be about EUR 1 billion. Out of that is at least 10% of Non-performing Loans.

French shopping centre REIT Klépierre, in which Simon Property Group has a large minority stake, has issued a seven-year EUR 500 million bond with a coupon of 2.75%, and said it was nearly six times oversubscribed soon after launch. The issue brings the firm's new debt market financing this year to nearly EUR 1 billion.

Italian govenment property agency Demanio is preparing to sell EUR 350 billion of state-owned property, according to Italian newspaper ItaliaOggi. Although successive administrations have tried and failed to achieve property sales to cut national debt, Prime Minister Mario Monti is now under intense international pressure to do so.

Chinese construction machine maker Shandong Heavy Industry Group-Weichai Group said it has agreed to acquire a 25% stake in German forklift maker Kion Group for EUR 738 million. Mentioned partnership is one of the largest investments in EU heavy industry sector in 2012.

Slovenia's NKBM said today a due diligence review of the bank carried out over the last few months has confirmed that it should be recapitalised as soon as possible. Certain necessary activities in this regard have already been undertaken, the lender said in a bourse filing after its supervisory board was briefed on the findings of the review.

There are speculations that Nova KBM would need more than EUR 100 million urgent capital increase. Today's trading of NKBM shares was at the range of EUR 1,20 - that is historically low and only a fraction of the price EUR 27,00 that was at bank's IPO in the year 2007. 

Abanka Vipa, third largest Slovenian bank whose bad loans have triggered fears the country may need international aid, will seek to raise new capital via a EUR 50 million share offer.

Abanka, partialy owned by the state, will offer EUR 7,1 million of new shares, at 7 euros per share on Tuesday and the subscription will run until Sept. 3. The shares will initially be offered to existing shareholders and then to the public, the bank said on Monday.

The EBRD and Raiffeisen Leasing Croatia are joining efforts to support further the development and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Croatia with a new €10 million financing.

Western Balkans and Croatia Financing Framework is a €250 million framework aimed at supporting banks and non-bank financial institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia.

Croatian polymer and petrochemicals producer Dioki said on Friday it has received a EUR 20 million  offer from Swiss-based United Energy Commodities SA to become majority owner in its Dina Petrokemija subsidiary and Italian-based affiliate Adriaoil S.p.A.

A filing with the Zagreb bourse also indicated that the Croatian finance ministry has granted a request for state guarantees on a EUR 5 million upfront transfer from United Energy Commodities SA that would be used to cover claims from Dioki and Dina Petrokemija workers.

Austria's Cineplexx International said on Tuesday it is taking over five cinema multiplexes in Slovenia owned by shopping center operator Planet Tus.

The five Planet Tus multiplexes are located in Maribor, Celje, Kranj, Novo Mesto and Koper and have a combined seating capacity of 7,413 in a total of 32 cinema theaters for a market share of 49% in Slovenia, Cineplexx International said in a press release. Owner of the company Cineplexx International is Langhammer Privatstiftung from Vienna.

The South African media and online business giant Naspers has announced the purchase of a majority stake,  around 80 percent, in Netretail Holding for nearly EUR 230 million. Netretail, founded in 2000 by Ondřej Fryc, Peter Burcal and Jan Mensik, the Czech internet retailer company has become  a market leader in the CEE in the past 11 years with its 1 million registered customers and 600 different product categories ranging from books to electronics to sporting equipments. Netretail Holding B.V. runs regional online retail shops under the brand Internet Mall. It has subsidiaries in Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary  and Poland. Recently, the company also acquired the largest Slovenian online retailer mimovrste.si.

In 2011 Netretail recorded a turnover of EUR 170 million and net profit of EUR 4 million. Before the acquisition, Intel Capital and MCI owned the largest percentage of Netretail; the current and former company employees own over 10 percent.

Magna Seating Chomutov, a unit of Canada's Magna International, has been granted free of charge land in Serbia's Odzaci for the construction of a plant for car-seat covers, the Vojvodina Investment Promotion (VIP) agency said on Thursday.

The agreement on the transfer of the land title was signed by Odzaci mayor Predrag Cvetanovic and Magna Seating Chomutov director Libor Chytry, the VIP said on its website.

Canada's Reservoir Capital Corp. said it has completed a feasibility study for the Brodarevo 1 and 2 hydroelectric projects and related infrastructure on the river Lim, in southwestern Serbia.

"We are very pleased to have reached this important milestone and encouraged that the feasibility study projects a solid economic return on both Brodarevo 1 and 2," Reservoir's president and CEO Miljana Vidovic said in a press release.

Reservoir's independent hydroelectric power consultant Energoprojekt Hidroinzenjering has recommended a capacity increase from the pre-feasibility of 58.4 megawatts to 59.1 megawatts, with a corresponding output of 232.5 gigawatt hours per year, the company said in the press release.

The total capital cost of the project is estimated to be 145.83 million euro ($185 million), including 34.08 million euro related to the construction of 7.31 kilometres of new road and tunnels on the M21 highway between Prijepolje and Bijelo Polje, it added.

Reservoir anticipates 30% of the project capital will be financed by equity and intends to obtain debt from a syndicate of lenders for the remaining 70%. For the purposes of the feasibility study, the company has assumed, based on preliminary discussions with potential lenders, that the debt will have a 15-year term from initial drawdown and be subject to an annual interest rate of 6.5%.

Vancouver-based Reservoir holds four geothermal exploration licenses in Serbia and is applying for three hydroelectric concessions on the Cehotina River in Bosnia.

Turkey’s Toscelik, part of the Tosyali Holding, will invest 35 million euro ($43.9 million) in the next three years in Montenegrin steel mill Zeljezara Niksic, the government in Podgorica said. Toscelik acquired Zeljzera Niksic in May for 15 million euro.

The annual output capacity of the steel plant will be increased to 400,000 tonnes from 120,000 tonnes, the Montenegrin government said in a statement on Tuesday, quoting Tosyali Holding’s president Fuat Tosyali. The number of workers will very soon rise to 550 from 308, it said. Production at the plant is expected to start on July 1. Its output will exported to Serbia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Turkey. Zeljezara Niksic, which once had over 7,000 workers, employed only 340 by the time it went bankrupt in April 2011 over debts of 125.1 million euro.

Slovenian coatings producer Helios said it plans a consolidated net profit of 6.7 million euro in 2012 after posting a 45.4% drop in net earnings to 1.3 million euro in 2011.

Net sales revenues increased 12% to 338 million euro last year and are expected to rise to 362 million euro in 2012, the company said in its recently published annual report. Helios manufactured 161,000 tonnes of products last year, up 2.0% from 2010.

A new production line for dry construction compounds was built last year at group company Zvezda Helios in the Serbian municipality of Gornji Milanovac while a new gas boiler and a new production line for wall paints were set up at the group's Russian unit, Odilak. Warehousing facilities for flammable input materials and products were built at the Ukrainian unit of Helios.

U.S.-based Commercial Metals Company (CMC) said on 4.6. it has completed the sale of its Croatian pipe mill CMC Sisak (Željezara Sisak) to Italy's Danieli Group for a total consideration of EUR 24.5 million.

The acquisition was made after Danieli and CMC Sisak had long-lasting cooperation on the area of new technology. Danieli is one of the biggest Italian industrial Groups, with annual turnover exceeding EUR 3 billion.

American private investment firm, iEurope Capital, is to invest 3 million Euros in Croatian group buying portal KupiMe.hr. KupiMe will use the money gained through its strategic partnership with the Americans to grow its business in Southeast Europe and to purchase similar portals, trebamito.hr, bigsale.hr and trebamito.rs, reports website poslovni.hr.

KupiMe has quickly become the regions leader in the new group on-line shopping sector. The portal offers discounted products and services to customers in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia and encourages the use of social networks, as to achieve the discounts there needs to be a sufficient number of customers bidding for the products or services. KupiMe saved its customers around 20 million kuna (2.6 million Euros) last year, while total revenue in 2011 amounted to over 21 million kuna (2.8 million Euros).

KupiMe founder Vanja Sertic is excited about the prospects of working with the Americans. "I am happy that the development of the company will be financially supported in the partnership with the iEurope fund, they are recognised as the ideal partner for our business, " said Sertic.

'Investment fund iEurope has achieved significant results in helping innovative companies with high growth potential. With our partners we provide strategic support and additional investment," said Laszlo Czirjak, co-founder and partner at iEurope

The assets managed by open-end investment funds operating in Croatia rose to 12.259 billion kuna (EUR 1,6 billion at the end of April from 11.994 billion kuna a month earlier, the country's financial supervisor HANFA published.

ZB Plus that is part of Italian UniCredit Group ranked first among the Croatian open-end investment funds with assets worth 2.828 billion kuna at the end of April 2012.

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, the nation's sovereign wealth fund, plans to create a specialised structure for investing in real estate and to start allocating capital in the next 3-4 months. It will target some 5% of its $32bn in AUM primarily at European property.

Spain’s government has approved a €15bn capital injection into the nation’s banks, half of a further €30bn required in provisions, while obliging them to offload toxic real estate and loans into a ‘bad bank’ for disposal, irrespective of the losses incurred.

As part of a financial reform announced Friday, Madrid will inject €15bn into shoring up the financial system, bringing total intervention to €30bn since December. Some €300bn in loans held by banks and deemed performing now are however threatening to turn bad, according to the economy ministry. In the wake of Madrid’s €7bn bailout last week of fourth-largest lender Bankia, burdened by non-performing real estate, it plans to create an asset management workout society or ‘bad bank’.

At end-2011, Spain’s banks held €90bn in repossessed real estate, plus credit in arrears to real estate developers of €259bn. The financial reform demands banks deposit toxic real estate into the entity and dispose of 5% of total annually, irrespective of the losses incurred. Banks in which the Spanish government holds a majority stake, however, such as Bankia and CatalunyaCaixa, will be exempt from offloading such assets

Four private equity firms have been shortlisted in the auction of a minority stake in Turkish hosiery company Penti Corap Sanayi ve Ticaret AS. Bridgepoint, Carlyle Group, Advent International and local buyout fund Turkven have been asked to submit second-round bids by the beginning of June.

Penti is one of Turkey's biggest pantyhose and hosiery manufacturers with over 160 stores in 20 countries across Europe. Its 2012 EBITDA is estimated at EUR 28 million. The company is looking to sell a stake of up to 49% in a deal that would value the whole firm around EUR 300 million.

Besides the sovereign debt crisis, an increasing downside risk to economic growth is the growth of commodity prices. In January, the values of short-term indicators of GDP growth in the euro area stagnated or declined. Judging by various indicators of expectations, the outlook remains grim.

According to the ECB’s projections, GDP growth will range between -0.5% and 0.3% in 2012, domestic demand will continue to be weak while exports will remain the main driver of growth. The situation on government bond markets has eased in the last two months, at least temporarily, largely owing to the ECB’s measures. However, without structural measures to ensure long-term sustainability of public finances and enhance competitiveness, the situation will remain uncertain.

A possible deepening of the sovereign debt crisis thus remains the greatest downside risk to this year’s economic growth. Rapid rises of commodity prices also pose an increasing risk, as oil prices in euros grew by 15% in the first three months and hit their all-time highs and prices of other commodities are also growing.

More sovereign wealth funds are expected to invest in real estate in 2012, says private equity investment intelligence firm Preqin. Aside from the 53% of SWFs that already invest in real estate, a further 6% are considering investing in this asset class.

SWFs were expected to diversify their portfolios as the global recovery gained ground. And a number of new sovereign wealth funds were launched last year which, as they mature, are also likely to diversify into alternative assets such as real estate, which continues to offer attractive returns. Although real estate has experienced difficulties over the past few years, a significant proportion of sovereign wealth funds still invest and will make new commitments in 2012, the report says.

Larger SWFs are more likely to invest in real estate, with 83% of funds with more than $250bn in total assets and 50% of those with $50bn-$249bn of assets investing in the asset class, compared with only 25% of those with total assets of less than $1bn. The majority of SWFs invest in real estate directly, rather than through private funds, while 62% invest both directly and indirectly.
 

3G Capital Management backed Burger King is to become a public company again. Justice Holdings, a UK listed investment vehicle will take a 29% stake in the hamburger-restaurant chain and paid 3G Capital USD 1,4 billion in cash. 3G Capital is New York based firm with Brazilian origin and paid USD 4 billion for 100% Burger King stake in 2010. Fast food chain plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange and will be renamed Burger King Worldwide Inc.

Property fund investors will allocate more capital to funds in Asia than Europe this year, according to a comparison of the two markets carried out by European and Asian non-listed real estate fund associations INREV and ANREV.

While allocations to property from investors in both regions are set to increase this year, growth will be at markedly different rates. Over 80% of investment managers who invest in Asia are expected to increase their allocations, while European investments will be substantially lower at 40%. "This trend is probably best explained by the fact that the Asian market is still comparatively young, with investor interest growing rapidly," the two bodies said. Asia is becoming more attractive for investors as this year’s surveys show a net increase of 82% to Asian funds and 21% for European funds.

Plaza Centers, a listed property developer registered in the Netherlands, has opened Kragujevac Plaza in Serbia, its first shopping and entertainment centre in Serbia and 33rd mall worldwide. Kragujevac Plaza is located in the city of Kragujevac, the fourth largest city in Serbia and the capital of the Sumadjia region in central Serbia. The city has a long history as an important industrial and trading centre and is home to Serbia's automotive industry.

The mall is the first to be completed outside the capital Belgrade, and will therefore enjoy a catchment area of some 590,000 inhabitants living within a 30-minute car journey. The mall comprises 22,000 sq.m. of Gross Lettable Area over two floors, with a six screen Cineplexx cinema facility and over 95 shops with international and local brands. Some 70% of the development cost was funded by a €33m development loan which, upon completion and settlement of all construction costs, will be converted into a 15-year investment facility. Plaza has been active in development of shopping centres in emerging markets for over 16 years. It was the first company to develop western-style malls in Hungary and subsequently pioneered this concept in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Latvia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and India.

At the period ending 31.12.2011 IK Investment Partners Limited paid a dividend of EUR 20 million to its shareholders, which are predominantly made up of the firms partners. In the last six months IK has been active in making strategic exits from its investments, including the sale of Norwegian retailer Europris to Nordic Capital in February. In September last year IK also sold Idex, the French infrastructure and public services investment fund manager to Cube Infrastructure.

Songkick, a UK music company that hepls fans to visit concerts, has raised EUR 7,5 million in a founding led by Sequoia Capital. Songkick will use fresh money for expansion plans. Company lists more than 100.000 future events and has indexed more than two million concerts with reviews, lists, videos and photographs. At the same time they also developed iPhone and Spotify apps, that are recognised by large number of users.

Private Equity experts Sequoia Capital are active in the Energy, Financial, Healthcare, Internet, Mobile, Outsourcing and Technology areas.

Dutch cable company Ziggo on Friday set an indicative price range of EUR 16.50 to 18.50 per share for its initial public offering (IPO) in a deal that could raise up to 745 million euros. Ziggo said its listing and sale of shares to institutional and retail investors would be the largest European IPO to be launched in almost a year and the largest in the Netherlands since 2009. It said the offering, representing a total 20.1 percent stake, is valued at 664 million euros to 745 million euros on the basis of the indicative price range and assuming that the over-allotment option is exercised. Ziggo's owners, private equity firms Cinven and Warburg Pincus, are selling a part of their stake in the cable company. The offer and subscription period starts on Friday and is expected to close on March 20

Over the next five years some EUR 412 billion of loans made to European companies taken over in leveraged buyouts will mature. In the year 2012 the amount is estimated to EUR 52 billion. Banks in Europe are in most cases not ready to grant these firms fresh loans. Even if companies will be able to refinance their maturing debt, they may have to pay a higher interest rate for the funds.

The 2011 sales results of the Intereuropa Group reflected the dynamics of economic growth in its key
markets. Despite repeated market deterioration in the second half-year and following some measures
taken in the Land Transport area which had a direct short-term impact on a drop in sales revenue, our
sales results were good and above the plan. With our efforts towards cost efficiency and optimization
of operations, we have retained the position of the leading provider of comprehensive logistics
services in Slovenia and the countries of former Yugoslavia, and we achieved a positive operating
profit for the first time after 2008.

In the reporting year 2011 IEK generated a sales revenue of € 211.9 million and exceeded the
comparable result of the year 2010 by 11 percent; the target sales revenue was surpassed in all the
three core business areas and the financial year was closed 11 percent above the plan. Among the
services offered in IEK range, the highest growth rates were seen in railway transport, car logistics,
the logistics services involved in logistics solutions, and customs services. The highest sales growth in
the reporting period was achieved by our companies in the Ukraine and Russia; the largest share in
the sales was recorded by the parent company Intereuropa d.d., which grew by 11 percent and with €
107.4 million represented approximately one half of the sales of the Group.

The Group recorded an operating profit of € 6.8 million, thereof the Parent Company € 6.1 million.
After deducting the effect of financing (€ -14.7 million) and taxes, Intereuropa concluded the financial
year with a negative net result of € -7.6 million on the Group level, and € -5.9 million in the Parent
Company.

Slovenian civil engineering company Riko is to build a €100m complex in the Belarus capital of Minsk for local investor Elite Estate. This will featuring a five-star Kempinski Hotel, apartments and offices.
The €57m hotel will have almost 23,000 sq.m. of space, the flats some 14,000 sq.m. and the offices around 15,000 sq.m,, with service areas on another 23,000 sq.m, local media reported. The complex was designed by the Moscow-based studio Speech. Elite Estate set the deadline for the construction at end-2013 and for the entire complex, end-2014.

Elite Estate is funding about half the project from its own resources. The rest will be covered by a loan from a consortium of international banks, with credit risk insurance from Slovenia's SID Bank, the RIA Novosti portal reported. Riko, which has a strong presence in strong presence in countries of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, has been active in Belarus for over a decade

Slovenia's February seasonally-adjusted economic sentiment index remained unchanged from a month earlier after falling by two percentage points on the month in January, the country's Statistics Office said on Thursday.

The February index was down by five percentage points from a year earlier and 11 percentage points below the long-term average, the statistics office said in a statement.

A reduced pipeline and lack of available debt financing is likely to result in lower office vacancy levels across central and eastern Europe, yields may still compress further from a year-end average 8.7%.

The office pipeline remained subdued across CEE and without significant pre-leases, developers struggled to secure financing. Warsaw is the exception, with several speculative projects starting there during 2011. Vacancy levels range from 6.7% in Warsaw to 22% in Sofia and Belgrade. The biggest drop last year was in Sofia, minus 350bp, with. Kyiv, plus 410bp, and Zagreb, plus 390bp, still trending the other way. Despite declining CEE vacancy, most markets are still imbalanced.

Germany’s solid economic performance in 2011 is giving confidence that there will be a positive spin-off on demand for countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but the outlook remains uncertain for 2012.

Retail rents on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse hit a record EUR 11.412 per sq.m. per month at the close of last year, with demand for space by international retailers the highest in the world. It now has 140 shops, 87% of which are occupied by retail chains. The main reason for its popularity is the purchasing power of Zurich’s population which is the highest per capita in the world.

The city is also the third most lucrative retail location behind 5th Avenue in New York and Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. London’s Bond street has the fourth highest rents at EUR 7.808, Paris’ Avenue de Champs-Elysées reached seventh place with EUR 7.018, Moscow’s Stoleshnikov Lane eighth with EUR 7.015 and Milan’s Via Monte Naopoleone in ninth position with EUR 6.327.

InterIKEA, centre developer for the giant Swedish furniture chain, has begun site preparations for its first shopping and entertainment centre in Zagreb, to include a 65,000 sq.m. GLA mall and its first, 40,000 sq.m. IKEA store in Croatia for a total investment of €264m.

The IKEA store is to be built within 12 months of the final building permit with the shopping centre to follow six months later, and the centre is already 62% leased. IKEA said over 180 stores in phase I will include a hypermarket, fashion brands, household appliances and home furnishings, books and music, home electronics, a sport superstore, family entertainment and an extensive dining area.The design is based on a nature theme and a 2,000 sq.m. atrium will serve as the main entrance to the shopping centre and to the IKEA store there.

Last year, most of the total of €12bn CEE Real Estate investment transactions was focused on Russia with about 41% and Poland and the Czech Republic with a combined 35%. The €1.5bn Europolis cross-border portfolio sale in early 2011 accounted for around 12%, with deals in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia making up the remaining €1.5bin or 12%.

SunGard has extended its SaaS-based, Valdi market connectivity service with the addition of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE). SunGard’s Valdi Market Access Service helps exchange members and their direct market access (DMA) clients access and trade on more than 100 markets worldwide from any Valdi workstation or FIX application. Using SunGard’s Valdi, Slovenian institutions and remote exchange member firms will be able to access and trade LJSE-listed products simply and more cost-effectively.

The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD) has significantly lowered its projection for economic growth, to 0.2% for 2012 and up to 2% for 2013. The estimates for 2011 are also lower than initially announced. But even those figures are considered overly optimistic by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Unicredit's latest study, presented on the sidelines of the regional Euromoney conference in Vienna on Wednesday, points to a variety of factors for the fall in Slovenia's GDP, including political uncertainty.

The analysis highlights Slovenia's structural weakness, macroeconomic imbalances related to the budget deficit, vulnerable financial position compared to the rest of the world, political uncertainty which is causing a delay in the adoption of reforms, and the country's dependence on exports to western Europe.

Presenting the study, Fabio Mucci, head of CEE Banking Analysis at Unicredit, said that apart from Slovenia, the only other economy in the region to see a contraction this year would be Croatia, at a rate of 0.5%.

After Slovenia trailed the list of countries in the region with a 0.7% contraction in crediting in the first eleven months of last year, Unicredit analysts project a 1.5% growth for this year. In 2010, the country saw a 3.3% growth in approved loans.

Average monthly net pay in Slovenia in November was 7.6% higher over October and 1.2% up year-on-year, standing at EUR 1,053.96. The average gross pay, which stood at EUR 1,651.88, was meanwhile 9.4% higher on the monthly level and up 1.1% compared to November 2010, the Statistics Office said on Monday.

Slovenian company Javna Razsvetljava, part of private owned Enlux Group has signed an agreement with Serbia's Privatisation Agency to acquire 70% of Bajina Basta-based Elektroizgradnja for EUR 730.000.

The privatisation agreement envisages investment of EUR 600.000 over the next three years, serbian news agency Tanjug reported, quoting statements made at a news conference following the signing ceremony.

A consortium formed by shareholders in Slovenia's Abanka Vipa has decided to disband after getting no bids for their combined 75.7% stake in the lender, Slovenian conglomerate Sava, one of the consortium members, said on Friday 6th January.

The consortium, formed in December 2010, consists of Sava and another nine companies, which collectively control 50.1% of Abanka Vipa. In October, insurance company Triglav joined the joint sale procedure, raising the equity on sale to 75.72%

The NLB bank has notified a consortium of banks as part of which it was to sell the stake it is entitled to in coatings maker Helios Domzale that it is giving up on the plan and its role as coordinator of the consortium. Today's Market Capitalisation of Helios Group was EUR 102 million.

The management board of Slovenian retail chain Mercator reached a decision of taking over Pivovarna Lasko brewery. The company has already informed the Slovene Securities Market Agency (ATVP), Competition Protection Office (UVK) and Pivovarna’s management and employee representatives about its intention.

Pivovarna Lasko stated it would examine the offer and take steps in accordance with the law and decision of competent bodies. The brewery currently holds 8.43 percent stake in Mercator

Slovenian casino operator HIT has presented plans for a new tourism centre near Nova Gorica, to be built by 2019, and with a total investment of €700m-€1bn. The project provides gaming activities less than 3% of the total space.

The centre will be built with partners at one of six possible locations near the Slovenian-Italian border on 120 ha of land including 70 ha for a golf course and apartment village. The centre will include a hotel, wellness centre, casino, restaurants, multi-purpose events hall, congress centre, disco, gallery, shopping centre, multiplex cinema, water park and amusement park.

Dolphin Capital Partners, a leading investor in residential resorts in eastern Europe with presence also in Croatia, said group net asset value fell fractionally to €1.20bn at end-September and €1.09bn before and after deferred income tax liabilities respectively.

The declines were mainly due to regular operating expenses, counterbalanced by the value appreciation of the Americas properties in euro terms. Group gross assets at the reporting date were valued at €1.78bn and Dolphin said it had no bank debt at company level apart from corporate guarantees on PG Bonds, a construction loan for the Aman at Porto Heli and the servicing of the Banco Leon loan interest at Playa Grande. Group debt to total asset value ratio remains low at 25%.

The real estate map of Europe has become devied between the Mediterranean and the North. While the first half of the year was still characterised by expectations of better times, the positive basic mood took a significant turn for the worse across Europe over the summer. In one area, desperate efforts are being made to return to smooth sailing, while other countries find themselves the massive focus of investors looking for safe harbours at a global level. In the first instance the reference is to Spain and Hungary; in the second, Germany, UK and Poland.

Aerodrom Ljubljana, operator of Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport in the capital of Slovenia, is planning to build a second terminal by mid-2015 and has set a €115m five-year investment program.
The project includes construction of a €70m new terminal, a small logistics building due to open in 2013 and a new cargo terminal to open in 2015.

The new terminal will have a total area of 31,200 sq.m. and be able to serve 1,800 passengers per hour. Aerodrom Ljubljana applied for a €17.6m 15-year loan from the European Commission to help finance the terminal.

Russia’s largest lender Sberbank has approved a EUR 330 millon 60-month credit line to developer Avgur Estate to finance construction of a vast 1m sq.m. integrated housing project on land by the Kaluzhskoye Highway, near Moscow. The land already belongs to the group.

Moscow-based Sberbank, which is owned by the Russian state and controls about half of retail deposits in Russia, is planning to boost its international presence with acquisition of Volksbank International.

An average salary in Zagreb in September was reduced by HRK 18 or 0.3 percent compared with August, to HRK 6,382 (EUR 841). Compared with September 2010 it was up by HRK 168 or 2.7 percent, the City’s statistics department reports.

The Zagreb statistics shows that people working in economy have slightly lower salaries than those in non-commercial activities (HRK 6,373 vs. HRK 6,403). The lowest average net salary in September was received by employees in security and research business, HRK 3,293 (EUR 434). Highest average salaries were paid in management and consulting – HRK 12,362 (EUR 1,630) An average gross salary in Zagreb in September was HRK 9.489 (EUR 1,251), which is 0.6 percent less than in August, and 2.9 percent more than in September 2010.

France's Société Générale has become the second major European bank to halt property lending, following Commerzbank's stop for its subsidiary Eurohypo. SocGen is also offering a €500m non-performing RE loan portfolio for sale. Given the heavy demand on its equity reserves from write-offs on property exposure, and now Greek sovereign debt, most property specialists expect that SocGen will close the property lending division completely.

Aside from the NPL portfolio sale, the bank has held discussions with private equity firms about selling €2bn-€3bn of its €4bn performing loan book, according to media reports. The move is a dramatic reversal of strategy, and will not affect deals already approved.

A fund managed by UK-based investment manager Tristan Capital Partners has acquired six Czech logistics parks from listed Czech developer VGP in a second 80:20 joint venture deal for around €135m. The properties, purchased by the Curzon Capital Partners III fund, are 100% occupied and built within the past four years.

Austria’s listed property group Immofinanz has completed acquisition of the 69.2% stake it does not already own in southeastern Europe residential developer Adama Holding. It sees Adama as the ideal platform for expansion in the region, especially in Romania.

Immofinanz, one of the largest investors in eastern Europe and Russia, bought the stake for €42.4m from US-based hedge fund Tiger Global, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers UK in administration, and founding shareholders.

RJ Finance and Bogatin Market Research prepared under metodology of BuildEcon report on Slovenian Construction industry in 2011. In the mentioned report the exposure of financial sector towards construction industry is also analysed. Calculations and estimates are based on all recently published data – including report on construction activity that was published by Slovenian Statistical Office last week.

Spanish Banco Santander has suspended the sale of €2bn worth of distressed real estate assets, out of a total €8bn the bank holds, after considering the two best offers received from US private equity firms totalling €1.2bn as too low to be acceptable.

The bank has opted to maintain the assets in reserve, which will mean disbursing another €1.5bn in provisions, as the price offered represents a 60% discount on their value. The two bids were tabled by Morgan Stanley and by Cerberus in conjunction with Goldman Sachs. The portfolio comprises some 29,000 residential units as well as land.
 

Italy is one of the most important markets for Swedish furniture giant Ikea and it intends to open 10-15 new stores in the medium term, investing as much as €1bn with a start soon in Pisa and the region of Piemonte, says CEO Mikael Ohlsson.

The group has just announced investment of €200m in Casale sul Sile, in the province of Treviso - designed to take pressure off its congested outlets in Padua and Gorizia, and adding 1,300 new jobs.

Growing cross-border activity helped double property investment in eastern Europe to €8bn in 2011 to end-September, and that month had the strongest inflows so far. Increased Russian and Czech local buying set the trend. Following Polish and Russian domination in recent quarters, Czech investment was most active in 3Q11, reflecting several large transactions and following hardening of prime yields in Poland and Russia in particular. Deal volumes in other markets remained low.
Inflation risk and limited alternative opportunities increased available money for investment into real estate, with prime central European property particularly sought after. Asset classes high on investors’ wish lists include prime offices in Warsaw, Prague and Moscow, and prime retail – mainly large shopping centres with stabilised income streams in capital or regional cities with populations of at least 250,000. Logistics with long secure leases, potentially through a sale-leaseback, are also of high interest.

Despite strong local Czech and Russian interest, around two-thirds of investments in CEE has been cross-border. Investors already well known to the region, including the Austrians, are again becoming more active. Secondly, more opportunistic investors are seeking to benefit from healthy Polish and Czech market situations in segments where they expect income and capital value growth. These value-add or opportunistic investors are mainly from the UK and the US. UK investment volume surged 80% from the full 2010 year. Even more remarkably, US investors almost equalled the previous 2006 peak with a total of over €1.2bn.
 

Average listed home prices in Ljubljana in Q3 were reduced by 1.5 percent compared with Q2, Slonep’s analysis shows. At the end of September, an average price reached EUR 2,601 per sqm.

The lease prices of rooms and two-bedroom apartments were reduced the most, by 2.5 percent. Lease prices for studio apartments dropped by 2.3 percent, while prices for one-bedroom apartments slid 0.9 percent. At the same time, an average lease for a four-bedroom apartments rose by 3.1 percent. An average listed price of office space in Ljubljana was reduced by 0.6 percent compared with Q2, while the lease was increased by EUR 1 per sqm.

The new City Center One in Zitnjak, Zagreb, the third project by investors Kaufman Group and Aggmore, is an investment worth EUR 135m. Together with retail centers in Jankomir (Zagreb) and Split, this is part of the biggest investment in retail centers in Croatia, worth EUR 435m.

The new center will spread across 130,000sqm, with 50,000 sqm of retail space, and will bring many additional contents to the eastern part of Zagreb. It will have 134 stores, together with Cineplexx with seven modern cinema rooms, Wettpunkt Casino, and a large playroom for children Kid’s Jungle. More than 70 percent of lease space has already been booked.

Two new shopping centres are to be built in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. Austrian-based SES Spar European Shopping Centers has received a permit for the €100m Šiška scheme, while Slovenian developer Grep will complete the Športni Park Stožice mixed-use mall scheme next year.

An application for a BREEAM certificate is also to be made for the SES Spar project, the first for a centre in Slovenia and scheduled for completion in autumn 2012. Stožice, part of a mixed-use scheme featuring a stadium and a concert hall and due to be completed next year, will offer 55,000 sq.m. of space.
 

European hotels last year produced a combined total return of 12.5% in euro terms, just outperforming a combined all-property total return of 11.2%. In local currency terms all-property won though – 8.0% versus 6.9%.

Translated into euros, total returns showed the UK leading at 19.3%, France at 10.0% and Germany well behind at 4.2%. The euro hotel returns broke down into 5.6% income and 6.9% capital growth performance, and were assessed on 373 assets worth some €7.6bn. Over 10 years, hotels showed higher returns that all property, with lower volatility.

Based on the contract reached among member countries of the euro area Slovenia will consider the possibility of issuing debt instruments to Greece, announced Slovenian Minister of Finance France Krizanic. "European financial stability facility has already been set up; it is not connected to a particular state and it is now up to us to determine whether or not it pays off, given the price of the loan guarantee, explained the minister.

The possibility of taking part in the insurance mechanism will first be examined by the Ministry of Finance and then addressed to the Government. The state which decides to partake in the mechanism will have to make one-time deposit into the mechanism, instead of paying it in five annual deposits. This means that Slovenia has to pay EUR 324 million all at once , instead of paying EUR 68.4 million every year.

European property investor and fund manager Meyer Bergman and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan have bought two shopping centres in the Czech Republic for about €300m from Dutch shopping centre developer Multi Corporation.

The acquisition was made via a 50-50 joint venture between Meyer Bergman’s specialist fund MB European Retail Partners I and HOOPP, which is also an investor in MBERP. The centres are Forum Nova Karolina in Ostrava in the west, and Forum Usti nad Labem in its namesake city north of Prague.

The accession treaty between Croatia and EU will be signed on December 19 in Warsaw, spokesperson of the Polish EU Presidency Konrad Niklewicz said. We are just in the phase of sending invitations for the signing ceremony to member states and EU institutions – the spokesperson said.

The treaty is the result of accession negotiations that took almost six years and it defines the rights and obligations of Croatia as member state, together with arrangements and transitional periods for harmonization with the acquis communautaire. The treaty gives July 1, 2013 as the date of Croatia’s accession.

Vienna’s listed CEE investor Immofinanz posted a 52% fall in net profit in the first quarter of its 2011/12 financial year but the result was hit by volatile financial markets, fluctuating foreign currencies and unusually high negative foreign exchange effects. Without these net profit rose 17% to €78.1m compared to the year ago quarter.

Immofinanz is one of the five largest listed property companies in Europe. It owns 1,600 standing investments with a carrying amount of €8.4bn and its core business activities are concentrated in retail, office, logistics and residential in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Russia.

Investors who believe Italian retail property holds less risk than office or industrial real estate may be misguided and it may actually be more exposed to the country’s deteriorating economic outlook. Investors and lenders in Italy perceive retail to be safe, based upon the assumption that high levels of private wealth, especially in Milan, will support consumption and thus retail occupier demand. However, financial markets are no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to Italy’s huge debt burden and fragile fiscal position. Retail sales data indicate that consumer spending has already started to suffer, with the annual rate of decline in sales accelerating to 2.4% in July from 1.1% in June.

Two large and high-profile US REITs, Colony Financial and Starwood Property Trust, are turning to Europe to seek distressed real estate debt, and have already acquired non-performing loans backed by German property.

California-based Colony invested $30m in July for a stake in five non-performing loans backed by buildings in Frankfurt and Berlin. Barry Sternlicht, founder of Connecticut-based Starwood, called Europe a "fertile field". His deals include a $71.5m loan on 45 properties leased by a unit of Germany’s largest retailer Metro. The REITs are seeking transactions outside the US on expectations delinquencies will rise and banks will dispose of more bad debt in a weakening economy.

Italian beachwear and hosiery retailer and manufacturer Calzedonia has been spurred by Croatia’s upcoming EU entry to buy a 250.000 m2 site in Croatia to build an €80m logistics and distribution centre. Calzedonia has over 1,300 stores worldwide in countries including Spain, Czech Republic, Greece, Mexico and Russia. The project’s first phase will be completed by July 2013.

The Slovenia municipality of Sempeter-Vrtojba, on the extreme west of the country on the border with Italy, has approved a gambling concession for Ljubljana-based Alea Iacta, which plans to develop a hotel and casino at the Vrtojba border crossing for an investment of €70m-€100m.

Named Sailaway Center, the project is to include a cinema with five screens, outlet centre, 150-room hotel with wellness, and spa facilities, as well as a casino. Alea Iacta own a 13,000 sq.m. site, but has not yet acquired the remaining 18,000 sq.m, where the rest of the centre, including a Mercator store, will be developed.

Chinese aviation and logistics group HNA, parent of Shanghai-based Hainan Airlines, and French developer Vinci, are the only two parties left in bidding for German builder Hochtief’s minority interests in six airports - which has reached €1.5bn.

Hochtief wants to sell airport stakes in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Athens, Budapest, Tirana and Sydney. The package is said by sources to be worth some €1.68bn, after Hochtief only recently raised its stake in Budapest by €250m to almost 50%.

Spain’s banks are offering repossessed residential units for sale at prices up to 40% higher than their market value – by enticing buyers with 100% financing and longer-term mortgages up to 50 years.

Some banks have acquired distressed housing at 50%-60% of market value but put them up for sale at prices up to €10,000 above similar properties, often on the same street or, in some cases, in the same apartment building.

Vienna-based listed hotel and office developer Warimpex posted first-half revenues from hotel sales up 14% to €48.4m, following greater market stability but a net loss of €3.2m.

Warimpex posted first-half consolidated sales up 9% to €51.2m, pre-tax earnings were €7.6m. It owns or operates 20 business and luxury hotels with over 4,500 rooms as well as five commercial and office buildings with a total useable area of 32,000 sq.m.

Vienna-based listed S Immo (former Sparkasse Immobilien) doubled first half net income to €10.1m and boosted funds from operations by 31.6% to €21.6m. With encouraging economic growth predictions for southern and eastern Europe, it plans to strengthen business in the region.

S Immo disposed of four properties in Vienna and Berlin as well as four apartments in the mixed residential and office building Neutor 1010 in Vienna with gains amounting to €3.9m. It now holds 244 assets, most in EU capitals and large German cities, worth some €2bn. Some 31.5% are located in Austria, 28.3% in Germany, 21.1% in SEE and 19.1% in central and eastern Europe. It holds 35.7% in office properties, 26.5% retail, 23.9% residential and 13.9% hotels.

Central and eastern Europe property investment rose 20% to €6.9bn by mid-August from the same 2010 period, and was 20% above all of 2010, was published by one of the leading realtors. Retail property across Europe is now the dominant sector. Thus 2011 is already the fourth strongest in CEE history, and renewed economic uncertainty across Europe will likely further focus investors on prime real estate in the region. Most active players were: Unibail-Rodamco, ECE Real Estate Partners, Pramerica and Panattoni Europe

In the second quarter of the year, there were slightly over 6,000 job vacancies on an average, the Slovenian Central Bureau of Statistics reports. This is 11.6 percent more compared with Q1.

The job vacancy rate is 0.8 percent. Compared with Q1, the biggest increase was recorded in construction, which accounted for 1,300 or nearly 21.4 percent of the total number of job vacancies. Another major sector is education. The number of occupied jobs in Q2 reached 786,000, and was increased for the first time in the past two years.

The largest Chinese shopping complex in SEE opened this summer in Afumati, 16 km from the Romanian capital of Bucharest, following an investment by 19 Chinese businessmen of around €150m. Meanwhile, the Romanian government is itself seeking Chinese investors as well.

Vienna-based listed Central European residential group conwert doubled first half property sales to €251.2m and funds from operations to €54.5m, a new record in company history. Conwert Immobilien Invest SE confirmed the positive outlook for the year and expects a 15% EBIT rise and proceeds from sales at €600m.

The latest data on movements of Croatian consumer prices have shown a downward trend on an annual level and a drop on a monthly level. In July, annual inflation rate amounted to 1.9 percent, show the latest data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. Due to the basis effect, price growth of energy and food productions had the greatest effect on the annual inflation growth. On the other hand, there is no pressure of domestic demand evident on price growth.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index decreased 2.5 percent to 1,014.74 this morning and set for the lowest close since Sept. 10. Declines in China and India dragged benchmark indexes there down more than 20 percent from their highs. G7 said they will take every action necessary to stabilize financial markets after S&P lowered the U.S. rating by one level to AA+, while the European Central Bank signaled it’s ready to start buying Italian and Spanish bonds.

Slovenian blue chip index SBI TOP reached today 724,22 index points - lowest in its history. Value of the index a year ago on Ljubljana stock Exchange was 817,75. On 2nd August 2008 index was 1.737,72 and in 2nd August 2009 reached 1.029,20 index points.

Negative trend experienced also most traded LJSE stock - pharmaceutical company Krka closing was EUR 60,15 EUR, while a year ago the value was EUR 65,69. In the years 2008 and 2009 closings were EUR 93,62 and EUR 70,98 respectively.

Croatia is struggling to pull out of a recession as consumption and investment continue to decrease. Gross domestic product shrank 0.8 percent in the first quarter, after contracting 1.2 percent last year and 5.8 percent in 2009.

There are plans of establishing the consortium of Serbian and Croatian construction companies for the needs of Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic games in Russia. In the mentioned consortium there will be more than 40 construction companies from both countries with long list of references. Main engines of the partnerships are Trade chambers of Serbia and Croatia.

Advertised prices in Ljubljana and central Slovenia were decreasing also in Q2 2011 was published by SloNep. Average advertised price of apartment in Ljubljana in first 4 months decreased for 0,7 percents and in central Slovenia for 1,8 percents.

Ljubljana's developer S1 d.o.o. that planned development of the tower in centre of Ljubljana, on Bavarski dvor started bankruptcy procedure. Debt to the local bank NLB that was financing the project is in the range of EUR 7 million. This 72m high landmark project was planned to offer 16.000 m2 of A class business premises. According to the unofficial sources, there are several interested investors in the project.

Vienna’s Innovation Park Development and Prague’s Karimpol have begun preparations to construct AirportCenterSarajevo, a shopping centre sited at the airport in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia & Hetzegovina. The project is budgeted at some €54m and will have over 30,800 sq.m. GLA.

Hamburg-based shopping centre developer and investor ECE has launched its first pan-European real estate fund. The fund will target shopping centres in Germany and central Europe and is expected to have a gross asset value of €2bn once fully invested.

Property developer Embassy Group, based in the Indian city of Bangalore, is to start construction this month of the initial 5,000 m2 of €50m phase of an IT Park project in the Serbian town of Indjija, near Belgrade. The project could grow to 250,000 sq.m. in five years.