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    Barings Announces £250m Real Estate Mandate

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    Barings has announced a £250m real estate debt mandate with The Phoenix Group for its matching adjustment portfolio.
    In partnership with Phoenix, Barings will build a portfolio of investment grade buy and hold UK commercial mortgage loan assets across a range of commercial property sectors, including industrial, residential and offices across Greater London and regional locations. The facilities will have a term of between five and 50 years and Phoenix will look to match the cashflows and duration of the assets against the profile of its annuity liabilities.
    Barings has already agreed its first deal for the new mandate, a £30m first mortgage loan on a 30 year term secured against a mixed used office and retail property on Tottenham Court Road, London, with a loan to value below 50%.
    Barings head of real estate debt for Europe & Asia-Pacific Sam Mellor said: “To have secured this mandate with a leading institution such as Phoenix is a reflection of the strength of our real estate business in Europe. We have steadily built a strong track record in the space and the ability to source off market opportunities as well as draw on our expertise as an owner and developer of real estate assets positions us well.
    He added: “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Phoenix as they build their exposure to this asset class. The insurance market is strategically important to our business and we have a long history of managing capital for insurers, with Phoenix’s focus on customer outcomes and sustainability aligning closely with our own priorities. The Phoenix mandate also aligns with our wider UK debt strategy targeting loan sizes of between £30m and £200m and diversified across the UK geographically and by asset class. As the banks retrench from the UK lending market, we continue to see a healthy pipeline of opportunities. Through this relationship we look forward to delivering strong returns to match Phoenix’s liabilities. Our performance in 2020, despite the challenging market environment, has put us in a good position as we look to grow our loan book this year in the UK and across Europe.”
    The Phoenix Group head of manager oversight James Mitchell added: “We are delighted to establish this partnership with Barings with the first deal for this UK Real Estate Debt mandate. The Barings team’s experience and expertise in this asset class were clearly differentiated during our selection process and we are looking forward to working with the team to help facilitate our growing needs in this asset class. Our ability to work with our Asset Management Partners to deliver high quality UK Real Estate Debt assets is only increased with the addition of the Barings partnership.” More

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      Stamp duty changes spur rise in interest from overseas buyers

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      Mortgage searches by advisers around visas and non-UK residents has seen a significant rise according to Legal & General Mortgage Club. Data from the SmartrCriteria tool, which helps advisers to determine whether a particular lender would consider a mortgage application from their client, shows that criteria searches related to ‘visas’ were ranked as the most searched term at the end of July.
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      The rise in visa-related enquiries coincides with increased interest from Hong Kong-based buyers as they turn their attention to the UK housing market. Recent industry data has shown a surge in demand from Hong Kong based buyers, which could grow further following the Government’s announcement on 22nd July of a new route to citizenship for 300,000 British National Overseas passport holders.
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      “Our latest figures also coincide with increased interest from Hong Kong buyers, who are now looking to the UK housing market as a ‘safe haven’ amidst political uncertainty in the territory.
      “There is an opportunity for advisers to support many of these buyers, particularly if they have little to no credit history in the UK. Lending criteria is changing every day in the mortgage market at the moment, and advisers will be key in helping these borrowers and others to cut through the noise and find the best product for their particular circumstances.” More

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      Cities with biggest rise in residential prices revealed

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      Manila and Budapest saw the strongest rise in annual price growth year-to-date and in Q1 2020 respectively, according to the latest Global Residential Cities Index from Knight Frank. Manila leads the annual rankings for the second consecutive quarter, with price growth of 22% in the year to March 2020, with Budapest following closely behind at […] More

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      Fewer US homes sold above list price in 2019

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      The proportion of homes sold about the list price fell to a three-year low of 19.9% in 2019, suggesting last year was a less competitive one for buyers. The coolest top-35 markets were Miami (8.9% of homes sold above asking), Las Vegas (12.6%) and Tampa (13.3%). Las Vegas fell from 26.8% a year ago, which […] More

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      Property prices rise in 80% of key global cities

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      Property prices in key cities across the world increased by 3.5% on average in the second quarter of 2019, led by annual growth of 25% in Xi’an in Chine, the latest international index shows. Overall, some 80% of the 150 cities covered by the Knight Frank index saw property prices rise in the 12 months […] More

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      Key cities around the world seeing prime property market slowing

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      Mounting economic headwinds are contributing to slower prime property price growth in key cities around the world and leading policymakers in developed and emerging markets alike to cut interest rates. The latest prime global index from Knight Frank shows that residential prices across 46 cities increased by 1.4% in the year to June 2019, up […] More