hyped”), India (“mired in bureaucracy”)
and even Europe (“nobody does or makes
anything”). But he and other trust leaders
all said they believe small country debt crises will not hinder a recovery. “We’re still
out there signing leases,” said Guy Jaquier,
president, Europe & Asia for San Francisco-based AMB Property Corp. “People are still
pulling the trigger.”—Robert Carr
Vital Signs
Canadian Pension Fund Shells Out
$358M for 30-Story Telus Tower
TORONTO—A joint venture of Boston’s
Alcion Ventures and local partner Menkes
Development has closed the $358-million
sale of the 30-story Telus Tower, a 30-story,
780,000-square-foot class A LEED Gold
office project at 25 York St., to a Canadian
pension fund. The sale consummates a
contract entered into in 2005 with the
pension fund.
Alcion founding partner Martin Zieff
explains that the sale also reflects the
strategy that the developers executed in
building the Telus Tower, which is adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, with
direct access to the Air Canada Centre
Galleria and Union Station. “The investment thesis for 25 York was to take advantage of the low vacancies that existed in
the Toronto office market in 2005,” Zieff
says. He points out that the market at the
time was dominated by large tenants and
a few institutional landlords, and had
not delivered a new office building since
the early 1990s; the average age of standing inventory was more than 30 years.
“Tenants were looking to expand or
consolidate, or simply wanted new and
more efficient space,” Zieff says. The
Alcion-Menkes venture designed the
building to offer new technology and
“the competitive advantage of being the
low-cost provider,” he adds. Zieff says
that Alcion and Menkes “unlocked the
development log-jam” by launching the
building on a speculative basis and
shortly thereafter securing Telus as a
lead tenant.—Bob Howard
Rising Sovereign Debt Causes Concern
Rising sovereign debt in the developed world
is one of the main concerns for global business leaders and financial professionals,
according to 440 senior executives who participated in a survey commissioned by RBC
Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada.
1) Italy
2) Argentina
3) Turkey
4) Mexico
5) Russia
Significant chance of a G20 default
(ranked from most likely to least):
1) Greece
2) Portugal
3) Spain
4) Ireland
5) Germany
Most likely to leave the Eurozone
(ranked from most likely to least):
Source: RBC Capital Markets
56% say emerging markets will replace the US
as a source of global growth.
58% say that the credit capacity of developed
economics will diminish.
66% see an increasing growth imbalance
between Europe and the rest of the world.
87% see positive growth in developed nations.
UTStarcom Completes $140M Sale
SHANGHAI—UTStarcom Inc. has completed
the sale of the company’s approximately
2.58-million-square-foot manufacturing
plant, R&D centers and administrative
offices as well as other assets related to
the property located in Hangzhou to the
Hangzhou-based Zhongnan Group of
Cos. The total value of the transaction
reached approximately $140 million.
“We are very pleased to deliver on our
commitment to monetize our underuti-
lized facility in Hangzhou, China,” says
Peter Blackmore, CEO and president of
UTStarcom, in a prepared statement.
“With this significant infusion of cash,
UTStarcom has strengthened its debt-
free balance sheet and is in a stronger
competitive position.”
Jones Lang LaSalle assisted the seller,
and points out that this deal is the largest-
ever business park investment transaction
in China to date not only size wise, but in
the total transaction amount as well. The
sale also marks the first predominant
industrial sector investment transaction in
the Hangzhou property market, accord-
ing to a prepared statement.
that companies are re-assessing their real
estate strategies in order to make better
use of their capital and focus more on
their core businesses.”
Tang says that the offer from
Zhongnan was the first offer that
UTStarcom received and “they took it.”
As to why an investor might be inter-
ested, she adds that “the appearance is
very unique, they can use some space
immediately and they would be inter-
ested for investment.”
For the Hangzhou city itself, Tang
explains that the residential sector is
the most dominant sector. For commer-
cial properties, office development is
“dominated by local developers and
mostly strata-titled sales.”—Natalie Dolce
Executive Moves
LONDON—Turnaround management and
business advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal
has expanded its offerings in Europe to
include real estate advisory services. Scott
Morey, former COO and CFO of a mixed-use and residential real estate developer
in West Africa, has joined the firm in its
London office as managing director and
head of the European real estate practice.
LONDON—Ivo de Wit has joined CB Richard
Ellis Investors’ global multi-manager team
as a director and global portfolio manager.
He previously worked in the same capacity
at ING Real Estate Select in London.
For the latest news on executive
hires, moves and promotions, visit
www.globest.com/executivewatch.