1. India: Hoteliers Look To Score With Cricket World Cup
Hoteliers in India are rubbing their hands over visitor prospects for this fall’s Cricket World Cup, with room demand expected to pick up in late September as 10 Indian cities prepare to host the international tournament for the country’s most popular sport, also among the world’s most-watched.
Ten national teams are set to compete in nearly 50 matches from Oct. 5 to Nov. 19 in host cities including Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. According to the International Cricket Council, the 2019 World Cup in the United Kingdom generated more than 500,000 hotel room night bookings by attendees including more than 128,000 international visitors, producing revenue of approximately £46.5 million or $59.2 million.
2. UK: Commercial lnvestment Expected To Drop by One-Third
The United Kingdom’s commercial real estate investment is expected to total £41 billion in 2023, falling by a third from 2022’s total and long-run averages amid higher interest rates among other factors, according to a forecast from BNP Paribas Real Estate.
The property consulting firm said £18.5 billion was spent in the first half of 2023, less than half the volume compared with the same time last year, due mainly to higher borrowing costs. Analysts said the first half showed a shift by buyers toward prime retail assets, which posted “high demand” as investment in traditional West End locations in London reached £810 million.
3. Germany: Developer Gerch Files for Insolvency
Düsseldorf-based Gerch, one of Germany’s largest commercial developers with €4 billion in projects in its pipeline, said it plans to operate under self-administration after filing for insolvency, a process similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in the United States.
The company filed for insolvency for four parent companies — Gerchgroup AG, Gerch Development GmbH, Marathon Beteiligungsgesellschaft und Gerch Beteiligungen GmbH — citing project cost inflation and the war in Ukraine among other factors. Rapidly rising interest rates and reluctance among lenders are causing problems for several German developers, with insolvency filings in recent weeks by firms including Centrum, Development Partner, Euroboden and Project Immobilien.
4. France: Coworking Firm Flex-O Arrives in Paris
Office coworking space provider Flex-O, a subsidiary of developer Groupe Courtin, is preparing to enter Paris after setting up operations in nine other French regions.
Flex-O founder and CEO Christophe Courtin is making his first venture into Paris’ central business district — the company’s 12th new site in three years — by leasing a 1,500-square-meter space in a building owned by the Sélectipierre 2 investment fund, managed by Fiducial Gérance. “Our ambition is to increase the number of sites in the most dynamic cities,” the CEO said. Flex-O previously announced plans to have 50 cowork locations operating throughout the country by 2027.
5. Canada: Ending Rent Control Seen Easing Housing Shortage
Canada needs to reduce rent control measures that make life difficult for landlords to help solve the country’s housing crisis, according to a new report by the Quebec-based Desjardins Group financial services cooperative.
The suggestion was among more than a dozen in the report and could end up as the most contentious, as indicated by a new Leger Marketing poll showing 77% of Canadians support rent control as a method of keeping apartment costs down. Desjardins Group said rent controls, often introduced in hopes of keeping housing affordable, “should be avoided as they tend to disincentivize investors and lead to underinvestment in new and existing housing.”
6. US: Developers Plan Media Production Campus in New York
Hollywood writers and actors may still be on strike, but that doesn’t kill the plot for Manhattan’s first purpose-built studio campus planned at an underutilized New York City waterfront location.
Vornado Realty Trust has partnered with Los Angeles developer Hudson Pacific Properties and the world’s largest commercial real estate owner, Blackstone Group, in a $350 million investment for what’s billed as the borough's first public-private partnership to build a film-and-television production campus at Pier 94 along the Hudson River. Designed to make New York more competitive with other media production capitals, plans for the 266,000-square-foot project include six soundstages and support facilities.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.