real estate

Banque Havilland, once a discreet player in the European private banking sector, is now caught in a severe regulatory storm. This case has also reignited old tensions related to the 2009 sale of Icelandic bank Kaupthing’s Luxembourg unit to the Rowland family, the financiers behind Banque Havilland.

European family offices are taking advantage of falling US real estate prices, seeking opportunities in prime office spaces and “trophy assets” despite market instability.

Among the recently registered AIFs in the CSSF’s AIF Identifiers dataset is “Yeldo Varedo S.C. SP”, a fund registered on behalf of Yeldo, an Italian/Swiss investment manager focusing on originating real estate deals. The firm has made use of Luxembourg structures such as the reserved alternative investment fund (Raif) since its inception. 

A recent European Central Bank study calling for a regulatory framework to address instability in the market for Real Estate Investment Funds, known as Reifs, has been downplayed by a growing number of real estate specialists contacted by Investment Officer in Luxembourg and London. 

Dutch pension funds, a major category of investors in global markets and clients to many Luxembourg real estate funds, last year suffered losses on their real estate investments after many years of rising values. Their investments in real estate funds, however,  delivered positive numbers.

For investors in listed real estate who are deeply concerned about growth slowdowns and increased financing costs, 2022 is a year that will not soon be forgotten. For this week’s Top-5, we look at the best-performing global real estate funds in 2022. 

Macroeconomic pressure on Luxembourg’s real estate sector has translated into a lower volume of property sales, which is hurting the businesses of those who sell real estate properties – real estate agents. They are now screaming bloody murder. 

“The market is suffering,” said Jean-Paul Scheuren of the Luxembourg real estate chamber, speaking of the real estate market generally. “Everybody is like on hold, on hold, and also the demand is on hold.”

Fidelity International, via Luxembourg, is launching a new climate impact fund leveraging the need for improved performance of existing commercial real estate buildings in Europe. Investment Officer sat down with Aymeric de Sérésin, Fidelity’s director of European real estate investments.

Luxembourg’s reputation for excessive house prices is facing macroeconomic clouds looming over European and international housing markets. However, several country-specific factors will likely minimise the price drops seen in other markets, including tax measures, cheaper housing across the border, and a small development community.

Swiss-based real estate investment manager Empira has sold a 16,000 square metre property project in Vienna for an undisclosed amount. The property had been held through a Luxembourg Reserved Alternative Investment Fund.

The Zug, Switzerland based firm had only bought the property two years ago. In a statement, Empira spoke about a “successful sale at attractive terms… exactly in line with the investment approach of this product”.