LONDON (Reuters) – Backsliding performances and constant threats of break-up by regulators are forcing banks to rethink their property usage strategies, stoking fears of an office oversupply in Europe’s key business hubs from 2014.

“Banks are trying to do all they can to avoid taking on new lease commitments while the outlook for their revenues remains hard to call,” said Matthew Pullen, CB Richard Ellis’ (CBRE) (CBG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) head of global corporate services EMEA.

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Capital Shopping Centres (CSCG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz),
the UK’s largest mall owner, saw a “discernible improvement” in
demand for its properties, notably from retailers chasing a
short supply of larger shop units, it said on Wednesday.

“The impact of the reduced supply of new high quality retail
space is increasingly apparent in letting negotiations,” Chief
Executive David Fischel said in a trading update.

MUNICH, Oct 5 (Reuters) – More investors are increasingly
looking to up their exposure to higher-yielding real estate,
after largely avoiding riskier assets in the aftermath of the
global financial meltdown, senior property executives said.

“In the last six months, literally, the needle has started
to move the other way,” Derek Williams, Russell Investments’
global head for private property, said on the sidelines of the
EXPO property conference on Tuesday.

MUNICH (Reuters) – German banks are the most active in UK commercial property deals above 20 million pounds ($31 mln), representing nine in a list of 12 banks willing to finance larger transactions, a survey of lenders showed on Monday.

The 12 lenders, which include Deutsche Bank and Aareal, are those that have made large loans in the last six months totalling at least 100 million pounds, property adviser Savills said in the report, released at the EXPO property trade fair in Germany.

MUNICH, Oct 4 (Reuters) – German banks are the most active
in UK commercial property deals above 20 million pounds ($31
mln), representing nine in a list of 12 banks willing to finance
larger transactions, a survey of lenders showed on Monday.

The 12 lenders, which include Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
Aareal (ARLG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are those that have made large loans in the
last six months totalling at least 100 million pounds, property
adviser Savills (SVS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said in the report, released at the EXPO
property trade fair in Germany.

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Europe’s commercial real
estate industry will explore ways to stave-off a new wave of
volatility poised to engulf the sector, as it edges back to
health after being mauled during the global financial crisis.

The EXPO REAL property trade conference at Munich, from
October 4-6, coincides with a tentative recovery in the market
that is increasingly at risk of being overrun by sovereign debt
fears and forced asset sales.

LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays has renewed its focus on the commercial property sector, bringing its real estate investment and corporate bankers under a single banner with a view to luring clients from embattled UK banking peers.

Britain’s fourth-largest bank, which emerged from the global banking meltdown relatively unscathed by cutting its exposure to the commercial property bubble, wants to grow its real estate business by teaming lending veterans with its investment banking stars.

LONDON (Reuters) – British commercial property values posted a 0.1 percent rise in August, the weakest growth rate in more than six years, data showed on Tuesday, in a sign the recovery in the market has all but stalled.

The Investment Property Databank’s (IPD) monthly index, which had posted a 0.2 percent value rise in July, has so far gained 15.6 percent from last August, after plunging 44 percent from the previous peak in mid 2007.

LONDON (Reuters) – Development Securities is seeking high-yielding commercial property deals across the UK, predicting more developers will sell up at deep discounts as a prolonged bank financing vacuum continues to bite.

“We are very unlikely to acquire assets at 7-8 percent yield just to receive the rent … for this money that we’ve raised, we will look for a minimum return of 15-20 percent,” Chief Executive Michael Marx told Reuters on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Development Securities (DSC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is seeking high-yielding commercial property deals across the UK, predicting more developers will sell up at deep discounts as a prolonged bank financing vacuum continues to bite.

“We are very unlikely to acquire assets at 7-8 percent yield just to receive the rent … for this money that we’ve raised, we will look for a minimum return of 15-20 percent,” Chief Executive Michael Marx told Reuters on Wednesday.