Fleet-footed and asset-light hotel management companies in India have notched up consistent revenue and growth in recent decades without the need for heavy amounts of capital expenditure, but there are signs pointing to rising property investment if valuations are viable.

Basant Sabu, associate vice president of business development at The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said his brand had been asset-light since its 2009 founding, but that changed in 2020 and 2021 when the firm took an opportunistic bet and invested in the 108-room Bhanu, The Fern in Jambughoda in India’s Gujarat State. “We had the management contract, and it was an under-construction property,” Sabu said. “It strategically fitted with our investment criteria and the valuation criteria was also right.”

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Developer Related Argent and the Barnet borough council have signed agreements for what is described as Europe’s first and largest indoor baseball and softball venue at Brent Cross Town, a massive mixed-use development in north London.

Plans call for the 40,000-square-foot baseball hub, called The 108, to open this autumn with training facilities that can be used by professional and youth teams, along with others for casual hitting practice or social games. About 20,000 people play baseball and softball in the United Kingdom, but a barrier to growth has been access to a year-round facility.

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More redevelopment is in the works for a former military barracks property in the business district of Lyon, France, as developers look to emphasize environmental considerations.

Companies are envisioning the next phase of development for the former military site, which has seen other mixed-use redevelopment including retail and housing during the past 60 years. “We’re moving into the world of environmental transition with the integration of nature in the city,” said Florent Sainte Fare Garnot, managing director of development firm SPL Lyon Part-Dieu, who also mentioned an “image revolution.”

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U.S. contract logistics company GXO is looking to significantly expand its presence in the German market, starting with plans to operate a 36,000-square-meter logistics center in Dormagen near Düsseldorf.

This will be a new building constructed by British investment firm Tritax, with agreements in place for GXO to pay an annual rent of €3 million. The location is planned to be the starting point for GXO's expansion after the firm last year took over Clipper Logistics, whose former European head Stefan Van Hoof is now expected to manage further development in Germany.

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Toronto voters go to the polls to elect a new mayor in a special election scheduled for June 26, with an Ipsos poll citing housing affordability in Canada’s largest city as the top campaign issue.

The election was called after two-term Mayor John Tory resigned in February over an admitted affair with a staff member. Front-running candidate Olivia Chow has targeted renters, homelessness and home ownership as key parts of her platform, and has promised to crack down on upgrade-focused “renovictions” that price some tenants out of housing. 

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Money-losing electric truck maker Rivian may be cutting costs, but there’s one area where it’s speeding up: opening brick-and-mortar retail showrooms as part of its growth plan.

The company is looking to turn its sales venues into family-friendly destinations, debuting what it calls a Space retail and experience center in New York City’s Meatpacking District, right underneath the popular High Line elevated park in Manhattan. This is its first such East Coast venue after a prior opening in Los Angeles, as Irvine, California-based Rivian plans a collection of temporary and permanent showrooms across the country.
 
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This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.