Singapore rents near peak
Top office rents in Singapore’s central business district are likely to have peaked, and could fall by 14% over the next two years, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The result could be the cost of office space falling to S$9.12 per sq ft (£4.32), from S$10.60.
Fast food slow down for McD’s
Fast-food chain McDonald’s has said it will close more restaurants than it will open in the US this year. The company did not give precise figures, but said the effect would be negligible given that it had 14,000 US outlets. In its annual report it said it planned to open 125 stores this year.
Blackstone in warehouse buy
Blackstone’s Logicor has reached a €300m (£215m) agreement with Goodman Group to buy 19 warehouses. The properties comprise 10 distribution facilities in France totalling 3.2m sq ft, and nine sheds in Germany comprising 1.9m sq ft.
Chinese top US house buyers
Chinese buyers bought $28.6bn (£18.1bn) of US homes last year, making China the top source of inward investment into the US residential sector. The total, recorded by the National Association of Realtors, was more than double the $11.2bn invested in US housing by Canadians.
CIC goes shopping in Europe
China Investment Corporation is buying a $1.2bn (£0.8bn) portfolio of shopping centres from CBRE Global Investors. The sovereign wealth fund outbid Unibail-Rodamco and Wereldhave to buy the 10 malls, which are located in France and Belgium.
Overseas cash boosts Spain
Foreign investment is behind growth in the Spanish property market, with foreigners making 12.2% of residential property purchases in Q1, according to the country’s property registrars society.
