Rachel Wolcott

Recent stories by Rachel Wolcott

• Credit derivatives: Investors’ hunt for value begins

  Euromoney May 2008

• Year of the rats

  "It is an inauspicious year because the rat year brings about slower world economies where unemployment, money matters and environment matters would be the key issues. There would be plenty of natural disasters/diseases which could affect the world."

  Euromoney April 2008

• Distressed funds dash to raise cash

  The number of so-called distressed and opportunistic funds has grown quickly on the back of the downturn in the property markets. Some believe these investors might be jumping the gun, as truly distressed properties remain few and far between. Market observers say the amount of cash being raised could far exceed the number of opportunities.

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• UK mortgage lenders try to shore up funding

  As the Northern Rock saga rolls on, UK mortgage lenders that had frequented the now-shuttered residential mortgage-backed securities market are seeking to fortify funding lines. Alliance & Leicester, one of the country’s largest lenders, with a £41 billion ($82 billion) prime mortgage portfolio, is one operation that has been identified as perhaps having been too dependent on the RMBS market.

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• Eco-friendly real estate: Financing the cities of the future

  The global real estate industry is on the brink of a green revolution. Will the cities of the future be built to be greener, creating a parallel universe of green financing instruments?

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• Cutting data centre carbon emissions

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• Amman: An ancient city looks to the future

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• New Songdo: Korea rethinks urban development

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• Green leases: Signing up for sustainability

  Green leases are slowly finding favour among tenants and landlords in the UK. With increasing energy costs and new legislation encouraging sustainable building practices, some market participants believe these contracts will become the norm. Rachel Wolcott reports.

  Published March 2008 Liquid real estate Issue 05

• CMBS: Property values lean on CMBS

  Euromoney March 2008

• Indices: ERMBX adds more volatility

  Euromoney March 2008

• New pooled fund structure caters to corporate pensions

  Aberdeen Property Investors has teamed up with Swedish insurer Folksam to create a pooled fund structure open only to companies within the Folksam Group. Aberdeen plans to roll out this new type of instrument for indirect property investments to other large multinational companies with separate pension plans.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• LandSec’s three-way Reits split unlikely to set a precedent

  Land Securities’ announcement that it will split into three sector-focused specialist companies is unlikely to signal the demise of generalist UK Reits. Other large Reits, such as Hammerson and British Land, have indicated that they will not pursue the specialist route. However, now that their share prices have come under significant pressure, many UK Reits will have to reconsider their structures and strategies, making Land Securities an interesting market test case.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• Property derivatives debut in Switzerland and Italy

  The advent of trades on the Italian and Swiss Investment Property Databank indices has furthered the development of the property derivatives market. This opening up of the market into new jurisdictions is expected to continue, with market experts pointing to the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Ireland as likely candidates for the next IPD-based trades.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• London’s Gherkin gobbled up by German private clients

  The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe), a landmark building in the City of London, has been sold to German high-net-worth and private clients through IVG Immobilien’s closed-end fund, EuroSelect 14.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• UK planning reform bill promises big change

  Big changes are coming to the UK real estate market as the government seeks to pass the planning reform bill which is aimed, in part, at streamlining and improving the planning process. If passed, the bill will introduce a single consents regime for big infrastructure projects, create an independent infrastructure planning commission and institute further initiatives to improve the town and country planning system. Now in its first reading in the House of Commons, the proposed legislation could bring the most significant changes to planning in the UK since the end of the Second World War.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• Merrill bets on India’s burgeoning economy

  Merrill Lynch has invested $377 million in the Indian real estate market, through the purchase of a 49% share of a portfolio of residential properties. The portfolio is managed by DLF, one of India’s largest developers, and comprises seven mid-income residential projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore. The deal brings Merrill Lynch’s total investment in the market to $550 million.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• Austria’s Meinl comes under scrutiny

  Meinl European Land (MEL), Austria’s second-largest real estate company by market capitalization, is under investigation by its local regulator, the Financial Market Authority (FMA).

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• European CMBS deals re-emerge reshaped

  After almost a five-month hiatus the European commercial mortgage-backed securities market is showing signs of life, with a handful of deals being marketed quietly. However, market participants are by no means confident that these deals will herald the market’s resurrection. Dealers have dramatically revised their expectations for 2007 volumes. Instead of the projected €100 million-worth of CMBS, a mere €50 million is hoped for by year-end.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04

• Gulf-based companies to launch property-related IPOs

  Leading Gulf-based real estate companies look set to benefit from the surging global demand for regional property-related securities, with many set to launch local and overseas initial public offerings over the coming months.

  Published December 2007 Liquid real estate Issue 04