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☆ Modular homes were hailed as a solution to housing crises. But the sector is now struggling to scale
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Vicky Mckeever | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Modern tech-enabled versions of modular housing promise a faster, more sustainable solution to housing crises, according to experts. The fact that modular housing is also made in a controlled factory environment means less waste is generated, while also resulting in more energy-efficient homes. A 2022 report from industry group Make UK Modular highlighted that 80% fewer vehicle movements were needed to development sites with modular building. In the U.K. last year, Ilke Homes collapsed, while Legal & General moved to wind down its modular housing factory. By comparison, a Make UK Modular report published last year said more than 3,000 modular homes were being built in the U.K. annually, though there was capacity to build five times that number.

Persons: Prefabrication, William the Conqueror, Andrew Shepherd, Shepherd, Modulous, Jonatan Pinkse, Pinkse, Suzanne Peters, Daniel Paterson, prefabrication, Richard Valentine, Valentine, Selsey Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Sears, CNBC, University of Cambridge, Edinburgh Napier University, Ilke, Legal, King's College, Alliance Manchester Business School, Savills Research, McKinsey, Company, Ikea, Vonovia Locations: Foston, Derby, housebuilding, England, U.S, King's College London, Wales, Selsey, Sweden, Japan, prefabrication, Berlin, Germany

☆ Vonovia falls 6% after its biggest ever loss shines light on Germany's property crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of German property giant Vonovia fell as much as 7% on Friday, shining a light on a deepening real estate crisis in Europe's largest economy. The residential real estate company on Thursday reported an annual loss of 6.76 billion euros ($7.37 billion) for 2023, citing a decreasing valuation trend that "significantly weakened" over the course of the year. In the 2023 fiscal year, Vonovia said it had taken total value adjustments of around 10.7 billion euros across its portfolio of more than 500,000 properties. The company added that the value of its properties at the end of last year, when adjusted to reflect investments, had fallen to around 81.1 billion euros. "The collapse of valuations is the worst we have ever seen," Vonovia CEO Rolf Buch told reporters on Thursday evening, according to Reuters.

Persons: Vonovia, Rolf Buch Organizations: Reuters Locations: Huerth, Germany, Europe's, London

"It is hard to understand how the ECB ended up buying the bonds of property companies, while at the same time warning of the risks of property price inflation," former ECB chief economist Otmar Issing told Reuters. But data this week shows the central bank still owned the two bonds issued by SBB as of Nov. 24. While Sweden is not in the euro zone, SBB issued the debt bought by the ECB in neighbouring Finland, which is. Alongside the SBB bonds, the ECB also hoovered up the debt of other property companies which have since hit problems, including Sweden's Heimstaden. The ECB also gobbled up many German real estate bonds, including 39 issued by Vonovia, which has been selling property to cut debt.

Persons: Otmar Issing, Daniel Gros, Gros, Sweden's, Heimstaden, it's, Alexander Smith Organizations: SBB, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Research, Institute, European, Bocconi University, Fitch, Vonovia, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Europe, Germany, Sweden, Milan, Swedish, Finland

☆ Barclays reveals 10 debt-laden global stocks at risk from higher interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Barclays has identified the European stocks that are most at risk of taking a hit to profits over rising interest payments for debt over the next two years. During the coronavirus pandemic, central banks cut interest rates to historic lows, enabling companies to borrow debt at very favorable rates. The table below shows the 10 stocks Barclays expects to have the biggest increase in interest costs through to 2025. Since interest costs are integral to real estate business models, the impact on margins and profits could be much more severe, the bank's analysts said. The Barclays team is confident that while interest rates can hurt company bottom lines, there was "scant" evidence that showed there was systemic risk.

Persons: Fastighets Balder, Castellum, Vonovia, Matthew Joyce, Zoso Davies Organizations: Barclays, Premier, Whitbread, BASF, Dassault Systemes Locations: Swiss

And while the local government says Berlin has sufficient space to build over 100,000 apartments, there is no sign the housing crisis gripping the city will ease. But as Europe's largest economy teeters near recession, economists warn that high rents will feed inflation and reduce household consumption. In Berlin, local opposition has frustrated plans to build, while regulation creates a two-tier rental market that is cheap for some long-term tenants and expensive for new renters. Rising property demand saw private companies develop luxury apartments that offered a higher yield - in part, Buch said, because government permissioning for more affordable housing projects was so slow. OPPOSITIONSome building projects have since faced local opposition while a recent attempt to curb rent increases backfired.

Persons: Lisi Niesner, Rolf Buch, Buch, you've, Konstantin Kholodilin, Marwa, Monika Neugebauer, Goldman Sachs, Neugebauer, Gesa Crockford, Martin Pallgen, Anna Hohnrath, Hohnrath, Matthias Inverardi, Matthias Williams, Catherine Evans Organizations: Berlin, REUTERS, Rights, Vonovia, Reuters, DIVISION, International Union of Tenants, European, West, Foreigners, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, San Francisco, California, City, Tempelhof, Valencia, Spain

☆ Goldman Sachs updates its 'directors’ cut’ list of top Europe stocks with major upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chip stock addition One notable update to Goldman Sach's directors' cut list was the addition of ASML Holdings – a Netherlands-headquartered chip machine-maker that has Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSMC ) as its biggest customer. Stocks on the list British telecommunications player BT Group made the investment bank's updated directors' cut list – with an upside of around 149% from its Oct. 30 close, based on a 12-month price target of £280 ($340.68). Delivery Hero is another favorite stock, with a price target of 53.90 euros ($57.04), giving it an upside of approximately 128%. German real estate player Vonovia was another company that made the investment bank's list with 75% upside based on a 12-month price target of 36.70 euros. They are thus focused on identifying quality growth and select value stocks for their their conviction list of top buy-rated stocks.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, ASML Holdings Goldman, Stocks, Vonovia, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: ASML Holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Euronext, Nasdaq, BT Group Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Euronext Amsterdam, ASML, bullish, British

☆ Earnings will 'make or break' European stocks — here's what to watch, according to analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors will look to the upcoming earnings season to see whether stocks can recover from recent losses or if more declines are ahead. "All year, we've seen the steady weakening in European soft data and, more recently, hard data. In a note titled "Q3 Earnings - Make or break," Barclays analysts echoed that sentiment, suggesting that despite resilient earnings thus far, more mixed third-quarter economic indicators hint at equally varied results. UBS analysts have identified stocks that could surprise, both positively and negatively, when their earnings results are released in the coming weeks. Fowler said UBS analysts have historically been pretty accurate at predicting surprises, especially when combined with a value investing bias, which has tended to outperform.

Persons: Gerry Fowler, we've, Fowler, CNBC's, Fowler isn't, Emmanuel Cau, Stocks Organizations: UBS, Barclays, Santander, Ryanair, Siemens Energy, Nordic, Universal Music, AstraZeneca Locations: Europe

☆ Goldman reveals its brand new 'conviction list' of European stocks — giving one nearly 150% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs has a new list of top stock picks for Europe, which it called its "most differentiated" ideas for the region. The "European Conviction List - Directors' Cut" is the bank's "curated and active" list of 15 to 25 buy-rated stocks. Goldman already has a conviction list of stock ideas across regions — which includes its top buy-rated stocks it expects to outperform. "The subcommittee will collaborate with each sector analyst to identify top ideas that offer a combination of conviction, a differentiated view and high risk-adjusted returns," Goldman wrote in the Oct.1 note. Goldman presented 18 European names in this new list, which it will update monthly.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Puma, Philips, Enel, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Europe, bank's, Investment, Puma, Volvo, Philips, BT, Veritas Locations: Europe

☆ European stocks rise on China optimism; Novo Nordisk scales new peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 1, 2023. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.6% by 0720 GMT, following a three-session losing run. Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) rose 1.6% to hit a record high after the Danish drugmaker launched its weight-loss injection Wegovy in Britain. Novo, with a market capitalisation of $424.7 billion, unseated LVMH (LVMH.PA) as Europe's most valuable listed company on Friday. Shares of German real estate firm Vonovia (VNAn.DE) rose 1.5% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "equal-weight" from "underweight".

Persons: LVMH, Morgan Stanley, Sruthi Shankar, Eileen Soreng Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, drugmaker Novo, Miners, Reuters, Novo Nordisk, Danish drugmaker, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Asia, China, Danish, Britain, Bengaluru

Germany's property sector is in stress, underscoring a major change of fortune for real estate in Europe's largest economy after an end to the era of cheap money. In the latest signs of stress in the sector, Germany's largest real estate group Vonovia (VNAn.DE) posted multi-billion euro losses and writedowns, and job growth for construction workers has stagnated. The property sector makes up roughly a fifth of economic output and one in ten jobs, according to the German Property Federation. The Ukraine war has also made German property seem riskier for foreign investors. The president of the German Property Federation, Andreas Mattner, is pressing the government to temporarily suspend a property sales tax and is demanding a low-interest rate credit program to support new residential building.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Sven Carstensen, Florian Schwalm, Olaf Scholz, Klara Geywitz, Andreas Mattner, Oliver Mueller, Matthias Inverardi, Holger Hansen, Friederike Heine Our Organizations: REUTERS, CARE, German Property Federation, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Central Bank, Germany, German Construction Industry Federation, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Germany's, Europe's, Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT, United States, Sweden, Ukraine, East, Asia

FILE PHOTO-A logo of German real estate company Vonovia, is pictured during a news conference in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 6, 2018. After a decade-long property boom, Germany is undergoing a sharp reversal of fortune after an era of cheap money ended. Germany's real estate sector is mired in its worst crisis in decades, marked by insolvencies, fizzling transactions, falling prices and a stagnation in construction jobs. Vonovia, which went public in 2013 at the start of the property boom and took over its biggest rival in 2021, serves as a bellwether for Germany's property sector. Vonovia affirmed full-year guidance for its key profit metric - so-called funds from operation - of 1.75 billion euros to 1.95 billion euros, down from 2.04 billion in 2022.

Persons: Thilo, Vonovia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Rolf Buch, Matthias Inverardi, Tom Sims, Miranda Murray, Friederike Heine, Kim Coghill, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters Graphics, Stifel, Thomson Locations: Duesseldorf, Germany

FRANKFURT, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Germany's property sector is under stress, prompting firms to call for government support, property developers to file for insolvency and share prices of landlords to plunge. Reuters GraphicsIt's just the latest in a flurry of indicators that show real estate in Germany is in a deep funk. "Many, many property developers at the moment are postponing projects or slowing them down," said Francesco Fedele, chief executive of BF.direkt, a property financing consultant. THE DAXVonovia, Germany's largest real estate group, serves as a bellwether for Germany's property sector. TRANSACTIONSGermany is the largest real estate investment market on the European continent.

Persons: Francesco Fedele, DAX Vonovia, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tom Sims, Holger Hansen, Ed Osmond Organizations: FRANKFURT, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Stifel, Thomson Locations: United States, Sweden, Germany, Berlin, Frankfurt, Denmark, Europe

☆ Elliott seeks investigation into Deutsche Wohnen loan to Vonovia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUESSELDORF, May 22 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott is calling for a special investigation into a loan that German property company Deutsche Wohnen (DWNG.DE) made to its top shareholder Vonovia (VNAn.DE), documents filed ahead of a Deutsche Wohnen annual shareholder meeting (AGM) show. In 2021, Vonovia completed the takeover of rival Deutsche Wohnen to create a property group with more than 500,000 apartments. In January 2022, Deutsche Wohnen disclosed in a public filing that it would lend up to 2 billion euros to its new main shareholder. Cornwall, an investment vehicle owned by Elliott, wants shareholders to vote to install an independent investigator to examine the loan at the shareholder meeting slated for June 15 to examine whether the loan was in the best interest of investors, the AGM documents show. Deutsche Wohnen's supervisory board said that it did not see any need for an investigation.

☆ These 4 stocks are on Goldman's 'conviction buy' list — and it gives one 115% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A look at Goldman Sachs' "conviction buy" stocks this year reveals some names with serious upside potential. The bank gave Sensata a price target of $60, or around 43% potential upside from its current level. ASML Goldman named Dutch semiconductor firm ASML in its screen of "long-term quality compounders" earlier this year. Goldman gave the U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba a 12-month price target of $136, or potential upside of 58%. Goldman gave the stock a price target of 37.30 euros ($40.20), or nearly 115% potential upside.

☆ Helene von Roeder to become new CFO of Germany's Merck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] People sit next to a Merck logo at SEMICON Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Ann WangMay 8 (Reuters) - Germany's Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) has appointed Helene von Roeder as the new chief financial officer and member of the Executive Board after Marcus Kuhnert has decided to step down, the drugmaker announced on Monday. The changes would become effective from July 1, the company added. German real estate company Vonovia (VNAn.DE) announced this month that von Roeder would be leaving its management board at her own request as of July 1. (This story has been refiled to make it clear that the company is Germany's Merck)Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Amir Orusov Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vonovia to sell 1 bln eur stake in residential portfolio to Apollo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Vonovia (VNAn.DE) has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Suedewo residential portfolio to U.S. investor Apollo for 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), Germany's largest real estate group said on Thursday. The transaction could have a signal effect on the struggling German real estate market, where hardly any major sales have occurred in recent months in the face of high interest rates and falling real estate prices. The transaction values the Suedewo portfolio in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg at 3.3 billion euros, which is a discount of less than 5% to Suedewo's fair value as of December 31, Vonovia said. With the proceeds, Vonovia will generate around half of the targeted 2 billion euros in free cash flow from asset sales. To secure access to capital amidst the property market crisis, the group earmarked properties worth 13 billion euros for sale in the summer.

☆ European companies are tapping bond markets again as investors return
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

German housing giant Vonovia (VNAn.DE) last week raised 1.5 billion euros ($1.54 billion) amid strong investor demand in primary markets, a bright spark for a beleaguered property sector. Also noteworthy was a 750 million euro hybrid bond sale from Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica (TEF.MC), the first offering of its kind in Europe in two months. There were no hybrid bond deals in June and July, and only one transaction in September before Telefonica's offering. New hybrid bond sales total just over 10 billion euros so far this year, compared with 30 billion euros for the whole of 2021. In the broader market, investment grade corporate issuers have raised 258 billion euros so far this year compared with 322 billion euros in 2021, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Germany's largest landlord maintains right to evict even as energy bills explode
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new headquarters of German real estate company Vonovia is pictured in Bochum, Germany, April 24, 2018. Vonovia Chief Executive Rolf Buch has said that he expects rising energy prices to cost tenants up to two months' rental fees per year. "If a tenant has problems and contacts us, we will find a solution," said Buch, adding that Vonovia supported an eviction moratorium that is under discussion. Vonovia, Germany's largest residential landlord with around 490,000 apartments, has 55% of its heating system supplied by gas. The company said in July that it would reduce heating in many of its apartments at night to save gas.

☆ Germans are taking more cold showers as Russia doubles down on energy cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

German cities are implementing energy saving measures amid the threat of a Russia oil cutoff. Some residents are taking cold showers and air-drying laundry as a result, local media reported. Prior to the Ukraine war, over half of Germany's gas came from Russia. Prior to the war, over half of Germany's natural gas came from Russia — now it's down to 35%. But officials fear extreme shortages may take place this winter if Russia cuts off its remaining oil supply to Europe in retaliation against Western sanctions.

☆ Curtea Constituţională a Germaniei a anulat plafonarea chiriilor în Berlin. La cât era stabilită chiria maximă
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-15 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

Curtea Constituţională a Germaniei a decis joi că legea care impune un plafon pentru chiriile apartamentelor din Berlin este neconstituțională, informează Reuters, potrivit Agerpres. Plafonarea chiriilor a intrat în vigoare în luna februarie 2020 şi a obligat proprietarii să reducă chiriile pentru mai mult de 300.000 de chiriaşi şi să le îngheţe la noul nivel timp de cinci ani. În decizia de joi, Curtea Constituţională a Germaniei a subliniat că Guvernul federal este responsabil pentru astfel de decizii. „Niciun locatar al Deutsche Wohnen nu îşi va pierde locuinţa din cauza acestei decizii”, a informat compania într-un comunicat de presă. „Decizia Curţii Constituţionale este logică şi plafonarea chiriilor nu a fost o modalitate adecvată pentru a rezolva problemele de pe piaţa imobiliară din Berlin.

Persons: Plafonarea, Curţii, Chiriaşii, Rolf Buch Organizations: Agerpres, Deutsche Locations: Germaniei, Berlin, german, Karlsruhe, Europa, Immowelt

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