REC staff

Capital reserve rules will further squeeze banks’ lending ability and raise costs, writes Lauren Parr

Research for INREV shows draft insurance rules over-estimate property risk, writes Alex Catalano The Solvency II proposal that insurers should set aside capital to cover a 25% fall in the value of their real estate investments is much too high and should be lowered to 15%, according to European unlisted real estate funds body INREV. […]

Inflation rise to twice Bank of England target rate puts it back on the agenda. Alex Catalano reports.

The committee just set up to look at ways to improve CMBS in the future is very welcome. Chairman Nassar Hussain deserves the thanks of many for agreeing to take on a great deal of extra work and, some might say, a poisoned chalice. To get results, Hussain will have to try to balance the […]

You’ll be familiar with INREV, EPRA, the BPF and the IPF, the APB and the CREFC. Possibly you’re getting to know the PBF? But be prepared for some more alphabet soup: this year has seen the launch of the GRA, the ISA and (wait for it) the GRESBF. The latter organisations have more than a […]

The net balance of lenders reporting a rise in availability of credit for commercial property in the latest Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey was -13.7%. The figure was a surprise and is worse than had been expected at the time of the previous survey, when it was 2.1%. It contradicts the Property Banking Forum’s […]

First Lending Intentions Survey reports debt availability up 50% on 2010

HSBC and Santander have made a £120m loan to Grainger, secured on a £285m portfolio of eight London residential blocks. The loan, at a 4.28% average cost, replaces a previous £188m Royal Bank of Scotland/Lloyds loan, giving those banks an exit and introducing two new bank relationships for Grainger. The quoted residential firm has also […]

The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) interim report, published in April, avoided a complete separation of retail and investment banking. Under its recommendations, banks will still be able to transfer capital and liquidity from their UK retail banking activities to their investment banking business, but the ICB is considering forms of ring-fencing for retail operations. […]

The M&G Secured Property Income Fund has bought a Tesco superstore in Cardiff in an off-market deal, taking its assets above £800m. Advised by Prupim, the fund paid £67m for the store in Culverhouse Cross in a 25-year sale-and-leaseback deal with annual RPI-linked rent reviews. The fund was launched three and a half years ago […]