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A constant complaint among real estate investors is the lack of suitable product in Europe after years of little or no development activity and bank reluctance to dispose of legacy portfolios at attractive discounts. The situation is changing however, and PropertyEU looks at some of the biggest property deals ripe for the picking.

Highlighting Spain's remarkable bounce back from its near property-driven financial apocalypse, Bankia, a state-owned bank, is offering one of the largest and most diverse portfolios seen anywhere in Europe for many years.

The portfolio consists of €3.3 bn of residential units, €1.1 bn of commercial units and €400 mln of land. The big question is whether the recovery of the Spanish market is strong enough to entice an investor or consortium to risk such a huge outlay. Credit Suisse has indicated however that it may split the portfolio into smaller tranches to attract multiple buyers.

At end-March Bankia concluded the initial marketing for 3,500 residential units, plus 400 other assets such as garages and retail stores.

Bankia said in a statement that many of the assets are being marketed at discounts of up to 50%. About 80% of them are priced at under €80,000. Valencia has the largest number of houses for sale, with 1,300 properties on offer, followed by Catalonia, with 800, Castilla-La Mancha, with 300, the Canary Islands with 200, and other regions such as Madrid, Andalusia and Murcia, which each have more than 100 properties up for sale as part of this offer.

Also in Spain, private equity firm Doughty Hanson is reportedly selling its Plaza Eboli shopping centre in Pinto (Madrid) and El Rosal mall in Ponferrada (León) in two separate transactions. According to a news report by Spanish paper Expansion, the Spanish REIT Lar has tabled an €85 mln offer for El Rosal, while Plaza Eboli is close to being sold to US investor HIG for around €30 mln.

Totalling €115 mln, the disposals would represent a €5 mln loss on the price paid by Doughty Hanson for the two malls in 2011.

Following the death of co-founder and majority shareholder Nigel Doughty in February 2012, Doughty Hanson decided to exit real estate in order to focus on its core business of private equity. The Group has entered into a management agreement with Invesco Real Estate for part of its Doughty Hanson European Real Estate business.

Big tickets
The logistics sector is still waiting on the final word on the proposed sale by Czech logistics specialist CTP of its entire Czech portfolio for €1.8 bn. The transaction, if it goes ahead, would involve an international investor acquiring the assets in a platform-building play to support CTP's expansion into neighbouring markets. The deal would be the largest ever in the Czech market. But the questions are will it go through, and if so when?

And Germany seems to be on course for the largest commercial real estate transaction since the Global financial Crisis as two Chinese groups Fosun International and insurer Ping battle it out between them to acquire the €1.5 bn Potsdamer Platz portfolio in Berlin from SEB Investment Management. The portfolio comprises 18 properties in the centre of the city. Eastdil Secured is marketing the assets for SEB IM.

Developer UBM, recently merged with a unit of Austrian builder-development peer Porr Group, has appointed Savills in Germany to market of €900 mln of assets and developments. The office and hotel portfolio comprises assets in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands. UBM chief executive Karl Bier has indicated the assets may be sold together in one portfolio or on an individual asset basis.

UK
Albeit a much smaller ticket size, Savills has also been appointed by TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH) to market a refurbished office building in the City of London. The 5,300 m2 property at 7 Bishopsgate is being sold on behalf of the 2010-vintage Central London Office Fund (II). Offers will be sought in excess of £47 mln (€65 mln), which reflects a net initial yield of 5%.

Clive Castle, fund manager of CLOF II, commented: 'The City of London occupational market continues to strengthen, with office availability at its lowest level since 2001. This is an exciting opportunity to take advantage of the diminishing supply of Grade A offices in the City core and associated strong rental growth.'

UK lender RBS has tapped Savills to find a buyer for the 25,00 m2 Friars Square shopping centre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The indication price is believed to be around £46 mln (€63 mln).

Over in Ireland, CBRE started marketing in early May of the 'Sovereign Portfolio' with a guide price of €118 mln. Owned by Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), the portfolio generates an annual rent of €7.4 mln and includes eight retail assets located on Grafton Street, Henry Street, Dawson Street, O’Connell Street, Dublin and Patrick Street Cork. There will also be four office buildings located in the Dublin area and one in Cork.

Sean O’Brien, executive director, CBRE Ireland Capital Markets: 'CBRE is anticipating keen interest in this portfolio. In 2014 the overall Irish investment spend was €4.6 bn of which the retail investment spend accounted for 23% of market, a significant increase from the previous year. The retail market, at least at the prime end, is now where the office market was in the recovery cycle at the beginning of 2013. This portfolio offers a unique opportunity to benefit from this recovery, as well as a strongly performing office sector.'

Separately, CBRE is marketing the Millennium Park land bank in the Kildare town of Naas for about €35 mln.

Italy
Unicredit Group's private pension fund has mandated Jones Lang LaSalle to sell an office building located at 20, Vittor Pisani in central Milan.

The asset, situated near Milan's central station, provides a total of nearly 11,000 m2 of office space over nine storeys and is entirely let to law firm Studio Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati through August 2021.

JLL did not give an indication of the guiding price but said the asset has already attracted interest from a number of national and international investors. 'This is one of the most important investment opportunities in Milan at present,' the broker said.