Business News of Sunday, 20 July 2014

Source: GNA

Broll Ghana has organised a maiden Broll Ghana Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) cocktail, for the business community to principally share information and knowledge about development of Retail facilities that are springing up in the country.

Broll Ghana Limited has been compelled to initiate promotion of local investment in retail development based on the competitive income and capital returns from this sector.

Our direct involvement in retail broking services and retail management has brought to the fore enormous opportunities that majority of us are not taking advantage of and which we would like to recommend to the financial institutions, Mr Kofi Ampong, CEO of Broll Ghana said in his inaugural address in Accra on the theme: Financial Institutions and Retail Development.

The event attracted personalities like Reverend George Nimako, Broll Ghana Board Chairman, as well as representatives from HFC Bank, International Commercial Bank, First Atlantic Bank, Barclays Bank, Cal Bank Ltd, Universal Merchant Bank, Property Express, Star Assurance, Access Bank, GT Bank, Fidelity Bank, Vanguard Assurance, Zenith Bank Ghana and Ghana Shippers Authority.

Broll Ghana Limited for the past eight years has been involved in all property related consultancy services with the exception of property development.

The company started with two services namely; property management and facilities management services. Broll Ghana Limited is now a multidisciplinary professional service firm providing property consultancy services in seven core areas namely; Retail Management, Commercial Broking, CRES, Valuation and Advisory, Residential Property Management, Real Estate Consulting, Market Research and Retail Broking.

According to the African Retail Development Index (2014), Ghana is among the countries which dominate the list of fastest growing economies in the world and the potential for growth is still high.

Ghana exhibits good demographics and possesses highly skilled labour force creating the necessary environment for good investment, says Mr Ampong.

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Broll hosts maiden CEO cocktail on retail development

Could Mellon Square become the next Market Square?

While its no European-style piazza, some believe the area around the newly restored park could be primed to become one of Downtowns next hot spots for restaurants and retail.

I see it becoming the next great Downtown destination, said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of the CBRE real estate firm.

Only a few years ago, the Smithfield Street corridor between Fifth and Liberty avenues that includes Mellon Square appeared to be ready for last rites.

The Saks Fifth Avenue department store had closed, the Henry W. Oliver building next door was 70 percent vacant, and the former Lord & Taylor department store and the James H. Reed office building were empty.

Today its a different story.

The upper floors of the Oliver building are being converted into an Embassy Suites hotel. Lord & Taylor is now a PNC Bank call center with about 700 employees, and the James Reed building is being turned into an upscale 249-room Hotel Monaco. Saks is being redeveloped for retail and parking, and the upper half of the former Alcoa building is becoming apartments.

Add to it the rehabbed square and Mayor Bill Pedutos interest in making Smithfield a grand boulevard of Pittsburgh filled with small shops and boutiques, and its easy to see why some think better days are ahead for the corridor.

If you fast-forward 18 months to two years from now, the whole Mellon Square corridor will be unrecognizable given all of the redevelopment going on, in and around the square, Mr. Pollock predicted.

David Glickman, director of retail services for the Newmark Grubb Knight Frank real estate firm, believes Market Square, with its piazza and teeming restaurant scene, is unique in Downtown, but he sees the potential for Smithfield to generate as much, if not more, retail.

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Planners see potential in a revamped Mellon Square

Empty shelves I Increase in retail real estate supply and tenants exiting under-performing shopping malls led to the increase

The retail real estate segment saw a significant rise in vacancies in April-June quarter of 2014 over the January-March levels as supply increased and tenants exited under performing centres.

According to a report by property research firm DTZ, the Delhi-NCR market witnessed highest increase in shopping mall vacancy at 3.5% followed by Pune at 2.6% and Mumbai at 2.3%, respectively.

"In the case of Delhi-NCR, the vacancy level stood at 19.5%, up from 16% during the previous quarter due to the addition of new space. Occupiers continue to prefer malls offering quality space, good mall design and a strong tenant mix. In contrast, lower grade malls continue to witness higher vacancy levels," Rohit Kumar, head of India Research, DTZ, said in the report.

While the Delhi-NCR market, witnessed new supply of 2.3 million sq ft during Q2, about 7% completed in Q4 2013 entered the market in second quarter due to regulatory issues. Additional 2 million sq ft of mall space is expected to be completed in second half 2014, but given the extent of project delays, some of this is likely shift to 2015.

Vacancy levels in Pune increased sharply quarter on quarter from 27.5% in Q1 2014 to 30.1% in Q2, and with over 2 million sq ft of retail space under construction, vacancy levels are expected to remain high over the next few years.

Contributing significantly to vacancy levels in Mumbai were malls located in micro-markets of Andheri, Bhandup-Mulund and Navi Mumbai. "However, with no new supply expected over the next year, the vacancy level is expected to decline in the coming months," said Kumar.

Though new supply certainly has led to the increase in vacancy levels across malls in these cities, retail industry experts said, additional factors like tight market conditions, experimenting with new malls and aggressive evaluation of sites by retailers also were equally responsible.

As per Devangshu Dutta, chief executive, Third Eyesight, retailers these days are very practical about their stores and have no hesitation in shutting down the non-performing outlets. "A lot of focus is on performance potential of newly opened or for that matter existing stores. Besides, given the current market conditions, it is pragmatic to discontinue sites that do not justify the cost of operations," said he said.

International property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, however, differs on vacancy levels.

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Good days yet to come for malls as vacancies rise

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Abu Dhabi is showing promising growth in commercial and office spaces surveys have shown.

Rental rates for Grade A office space saw small increases of up to four per cent in second quarter for fitted and shell and core offices respectively says a study by a leading property advisory firm Asteco.

Landmark Tower handed over in the third quarter of 2013 achieved net effective rental rates estimated at Dh1700 per square metre for fully fitted space located on the Corniche.

Rental rates at Sowwah Square remained unchanged in the last 12 months. Although there is a healthy tenant interest leasing of the development has been on hold due to confirmation of the free zone status. The property advisory firm believed that with the free zone status leasing will restart and an increase in rental rates is likely.

The market for Grade B office space whether recently built or existing remained slow with no change in rates compared with the previous quarter. This was mainly due to no significant additions to supply in second quarter of 2014. This extended period of rent stability has become a relief to landlords under sustained pressure since 2009.

We anticipate that the removal of the rent cap could over time lead to companies that had remained where they are for years due to low rents to relocate to a better quality Grade B office space Asteco report for second quarter of 2014 said.

Meanwhile Abu Dhabi will add 778000 sqm of retail space over the next three years which represents eight per cent of the total new shopping space (9.8 million sqm) opened in 2013 in 180 cities globally.

The figures were revealed by Bassam Saleh marketing manager Bawadi Mall the five-year old mega shopping mall in Al Ain based on a global study conducted by property adviser CBRE.

The study also says that a total of 39 million sqm of shopping centre retail space is currently under construction in the worlds biggest cities with Abu Dhabi having more retail space under development than anywhere in the Gulf.

Saleh says: It does not come as a surprise to many that Abu Dhabi has the largest retail space under development in the GCC because the capital of the UAE has been taking firm steps in becoming a world class city. Malls in the Emirate have standards that are on par with leading shopping destinations in the world such as Paris London and New York. Visitors feel they are in a five-star shopping arcade in terms of services ambience promotions outreach programmes and staff in stores and management.

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Abu Dhabi commercial space reflects growthspan

Nadya Natahadibrata

The Jakarta Post

Publication Date : 17-07-2014

The property business, particularly office and retail space, in the capital city of Indonesia has recorded stagnant growth during the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, due to the legislative and presidential elections and the ongoing moratorium on mall development by the Jakarta administration, property consultants say.

Between January and June, the total net absorption reached 37,500 square metres (sqm), far below last years absorption during the same period at 213,400 sqm, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

[The lower absorption figure] is due to the anticipation of the election result, JLL research head Anton Sitorus said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

Most of the absorption in the first half was achieved from April to June, amounting to 21,500 sqm.

Data from Cushman and Wakefield showed a similar trend, with managing director David Cheadle saying that the general and presidential elections, on April 9 and July 9 respectively, had resulted in a wait-and-see attitude among tenants.

Cheadle also attributed the low takeup to the zero supply in the office market during the second quarter of the year.

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Jakarta property market stagnates amid election, mall moratorium

GULFPORT Roy Anderson Corp. (RAC) has won three construction contracts for projects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

They are:

Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort, DIberville Owner: Land Holdings One / Contract Value: approx. $122 million Scope of work: Construction of a 15-story, 300-room hotel with 61,000 sf of gaming space. The hotel tower will include 234 typical guest rooms, 56 suites and ten penthouse suites. The resort will include multiple restaurants, retail space, an event center, pool area, and miniature golf course. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2014 with substantial completion expected in late 2015. The contract value will be included as part of the Companys reported second-quarter backlog.

DuPont Bulk Handling Facility Relocation Project, Gulfport Owner: Mississippi State Port Authority / Total Construction Value: approx. $77.5 million Scope of work: Pre-construction and construction management services to provide ship-to-storage receiving conveyor systems, vertical storage capability (up to 15 new silos for total capacity of 220,000 tons of ilmenite ore and coke), and storage-to-rail or truck load-out conveyor systems. The project will include management of all civil, mechanical, structural, electrical and all other work systems to provide a fully operational facility. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2014 with a substantial completion expected by June 2016. This construction management contract will be executed under a joint venture between Roy Anderson Corp. and Yates Construction.

Design-Build Renovation of Buildings 1 & 2 at VA Medical Center, Biloxi Owner: Veterans Administration / Contract Value: approx. $31.1 million Scope of work: Complete renovation of Buildings 1 and 2, comprising a total of 135,200 gsf. Work will include complete demolition of existing spaces, upgrading interior utilities, including replacement of HVAC, electrical, and chilled water systems. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2014 with substantial completion expected in January 2017. The contract value is expected to be included as part of the Companys reported third-quarter backlog.

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Roy Anderson earns three Coast construction contracts

Rembold Properties to start work on residential-retail complex in 2015

Property the city of Beaverton owns at Southwest First Street and Angel Avenue has been little more than a vacant expanse of dirt, grass and a cluster of trees for some time now, but City Councils green light to develop the property will soon transform the half block into a mixture of housing units and ground-floor retail space.

The council at its Tuesday night meeting approved a plan to move forward with Rembold Properties proposal to develop the .9-acre property into a 3.5-story single building of up to 80,000 square feet. The city has negotiated a selling price of $780,000 for the land, the propertys appraised value determined by Integra Realty Resources.

Portland-based Rembolds plans call for approximately 85 housing units with about 2,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Covered parking will be located on the ground floor, and amenities will include a fitness facility, event room and a rooftop deck.

If all goes as planned, construction on the estimated $21.4 million project is likely to start by spring 2015 and conclude by June 2017, according to city planning officials.

Wayne Rembold, president of Rembold Properties for 30 years, told the council he looks forward to moving the long-discussed project into the realm of reality.

Were here because we think this can be a lively residential, mixed-use community, he said. Were looking forward to it and hope we can get more (city) blocks done.

Rembold emphasized the project as playing a catalytic role in revitalizing a sleepy section of the central city.

Its an area that needs kickstarting, he said, noting the first (collaborative) project is always hard to get off the ground. Im confident we have the right mix, with a plan and pricing that the community will embrace.

After receiving four developer proposals in early 2013, city officials chose to focus on Rembold Properties proposal. Mayor Denny Doyle signed a memorandum of understanding with the developer earlier this year for a project concept for the city-owned site. The memorandum allowed Rembold and the city to investigate the possibility of developing the current property into a mixed-use project with market-rate housing, commercial space and parking.

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Beaverton City Council moves on First and Angel project

The BRC said the weak spending growth partly reflected a supermarket price war, which contributed to a 1.8 per cent fall in high street prices last month, the biggest since at least 2006

British retail sales growth slowed in June to one of its weakest rates in three years, possibly in response to fears of higher interest rates, industry figures showed on Tuesday, adding to recent lacklustre economic data.

The British Retail Consortium said total retail spending in June was just 0.6 per cent higher than a year before, the lowest growth rate since May 2011 if annual volatility caused by the timing of Easter is excluded.

Consumer spending has been a major driver of Britains unexpectedly strong economic recovery over the past year, but in May the Bank of England said it expected the rate of growth to fall slightly in the second half of 2014.

Industrial output and the construction sector were weak in May, and services activity growth slowed to a four-month low in June.

The BRC said second-quarter sales growth was robust overall, rising by 2.6 per cent, the fastest growth rate for a calendar quarter since the third quarter of last year.

But the figures were flattered by Easter falling in the second quarter this year and the first quarter in 2013, and spending growth slowed towards the end of the quarter, after chalking up annual growth of 2 per cent in May.

June saw increased speculation that the Bank of England would raise interest rates from their record low 0.5 per cent later this year, though the BoE has stressed that any increases will be gradual and will be to below pre-crisis levels.

The BRC said the weak spending growth partly reflected a supermarket price war, which contributed to a 1.8 per cent fall in high street prices last month, the biggest since at least 2006.

Consumers continue to benefit from competitive pricing, which may be the cause of softer like-for-like sales in June, BRC director-general Helen Dickinson said.

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UK retail sales growth slowed sharply last month

An artist's impression of the 47,000-square-metre redevelopment planned by QIC at Eastland shopping centre at Ringwood.

Population growth is driving continued retail development across Melbourne and Geelong with about 250,000 square metres of space expected to be completed in the next two years.

Savills Australia's Victorian research chief Glenn Lampard said much of the development involved expanding existing large shopping centres rather than new projects.

"The majority is through expansion of existing centres. A lot of these centres have been performing quite well through this period. You rarely walk around a regional shopping centre and see empty sites," Mr Lampard said.

Victoria's population grew by 107,900 people (1.9 per cent) in the 12 months to December 2013, bringing its total to 5.79 million, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

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"We have been fortunate in the population growth. You don't need people to spend more when you have more people spending. Retail spending has been subdued but it hasn't gone backwards," he said.

Setting up new households means people spend money on fitting out new kitchens and laundries at bulky goods stores.

Three new projects in Mentone, Pakenham and Altona, totalling 60,000 square metres, are due to be finished by mid-2015.

A further 70,000 square metres of space in the large regional shopping centres will open for business in May 2016. The Pacific Group is opening a 23,496 square metre expansion to Werribee Plaza and building works are under way at QIC's 47,000 square metre redevelopment at Eastland in Ringwood.

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Population growth 'driving retail centre expansion' in Melbourne, Geelong

Published: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 8:38 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 8:38 p.m.

HAINES CITY | A Celebration real estate developer has proposed building more than 3,000 mostly rental units and 70,000 square feet of retail and office space in Haines City over the next few years.

If CBD Real Estate Investment LLC builds all four projects announced Monday, it would total as one of the largest residential developments in the city's history, said Mark Bennett, a city planning manager involved in discussions with the Celebration developer.

"The cumulative impact of all of them would be significant," Bennett said.

All four developments would aim at creating "market-affordable" housing, meaning no government subsidies involved, said David Waronker, CBD president.

"We see a tremendous increase in demand nationally, regionally and, most specifically, locally for affordable market rate for sale and rental housing," Waronker said in a press statement. "There is no secret that those looking for housing have less to spend, but want now more than ever the best value for their hard earned dollars."

One-bedroom apartments would rent for about $450 a month with three-bedroom units at less than $1,000, or about $400 cheaper than the Tampa and Orlando areas, he said. Single-family homes would sell for less than $200,000, half the $440,000 median price of a Polk County home in 2005-06 at the height of the real estate boom.

The developers expect current Polk residents would make up more than half the renters and buyers with the rest coming from Tampa and Orlando area residents looking for affordable housing, Waronker said.

Construction on two of the four projects could start within a year pending approvals from city and state officials, he said. A third project depends on construction of the proposed Central Polk Parkway, an extension of the current Polk Parkway farther east, and the fourth remains in the planning stage.

First on the block would be the $22.9 million Liberty Bluff gated community on 19 acres off Hinson Road near Power Line Road, Waronker said.

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Real Estate Developer Proposes Retail, Residential Project for Haines City