1. Ireland: Hotel sales rise with Dublin property deal
Ireland-based FBD Hotels & Resorts acquired the Grand Hotel Malahide near Dublin for about €55 million, among the latest in a string of notable hospitality property sales in the region during the past 12 months.
The division of investment firm Farmer Business Developments PLC purchased the 202-room Grand Hotel, which opened in 1835 on the Irish Sea coast just north of Dublin. The purchase from a family-run investment firm is subject to regulatory approval, as FBD plans extensive renovations to what will be its seventh owned hotel property.
2. UK: Knight Frank looks to move London headquarters
Brokerage Knight Frank is in talks to relocate its London headquarters from the West End to the city’s prominent financial and government district to the east, known as City of London, marking another rare shift for the main offices of brokerages in the region.
Knight Frank is considering taking about 80,000 square feet at the One Liverpool Street development near the Liverpool Street station, which would put it close to JLL’s new City of London headquarters, according to sources. Rivals CBRE, Savills and Colliers previously committed to having their flagship locations in the West End while maintaining smaller offices in the City of London district.
3. France: Global investment firms plan merger
The planned merger of asset management firms Generali Investments and Natixis Investment Managers is expected to create a combined entity with considerable real estate and other holdings across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region.
The companies signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that would create a firm with €1,900 billion in assets under management, ranking ninth worldwide, and Europe’s largest asset manager by annual revenue at €4.1 billion. Company officials said the new structure is expected to take effect in early 2026, pending government approvals.
4. Germany: Spanish investor finances Berlin office project
Spain’s Incus Capital loaned €60 million to finance developer Ardian’s acquisition and planned renovation of a 10,000-square-meter office property in Berlin, near the KaDeWe department store.
Ardian acquired the office building at Schillstrasse 9 in November, and it remains only partially leased, according to sources. This is the first financing deal in the German market for Incus since the Spanish firm opened a Frankfurt office in June 2024.
5. Canada: Brookfield chair steps down in bid to lead government
Mark Carney is leaving his post as board chair of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, a major commercial property owner, to run for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party and potentially to become Canada’s prime minister after the resignation of Justin Trudeau.
The former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England announced his plans to seek the leadership post as he also expressed concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada. Brookfield, among the world’s largest investment firms, said CEO Bruce Flatt would take over as board chair.
6. US: Prologis reports burst of post-election warehouse leasing
Prologis, the world’s largest industrial developer and landlord, said an escalation in leasing since the U.S. November election has bolstered its expectations for accelerating warehouse demand this year.
Executives said Prologis signed a company record of more than 60 million square feet of leases in the fourth quarter of 2024, with most of the deals signed in the weeks after the Nov. 5 election of Donald Trump as president reduced economic uncertainty. The strong leasing pipeline has continued “at healthy levels” into the new year, Prologis Chief Financial Officer Tim Arndt said during an earnings call held by the San Francisco-based real estate investment trust.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.