Melbourne's Chadstone Centre expansion complete Chadstone Centre's 560,000 sq. ft. expansion is officially open for business. The Gandel Group of Melbourne owns the 1.3 million sq. ft. center, and Baltimore-based RTKL masterplanned and designed the expansion. The architect on the project was Buchan Group of Melbourne.
Anchored by a 226,000 sq. ft. Myer and a 178,000 sq. ft. David Jones, the addition also includes 156,000 sq. ft. of additional international and lifestyle-oriented retailers. The new section of the mall consists of two levels, topped off by a curved glass roof.
Westfield ventures into UK with Broadmarsh Centre Los Angeles-based Westfield Holdings and London-based Post Office Staff Superannuation Scheme (POSSS), a retirement fund for postal workers, have formed a joint venture for ownership and development of Broadmarsh Centre in Nottingham, England. Broadmarsh Centre, a 512,000 sq. ft. mall built in 1973, is Westfield's first venture into the United Kingdom.
Westfield Holdings will pay $132 million to acquire a 75% interest in the center while POSSS will retain a 25% interest. In addition, redevelopment of a portion of the mall will also be shared on a 75:25 ownership basis. Westfield will issue more than 8 million Westfield Holdings shares to POSSS at a price of $8.74 a share.
Westfield plans to redevelop and expand the existing center to 1.25 million sq. ft., which will be worth more than $400 million upon completion.
Bass signs Tunisia multi-brand management agreement Atlanta-based Bass Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement to manage an Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn in Tunisia, for Tunisia-based developer Poulina Group. This is the first time Bass has agreed to operate its three main hotel brands on behalf of a single owner.
The new hotels are the Hammamet Inter-Continental Resort, The Crowne Plaza Tunis and the Holiday Inn Resort, Hammamet. The Inter-Continental and Holiday Inn hotels, both under construction, are scheduled to open at year end, with construction on the Crowne Plaza Tunis scheduled to begin in the next few months.
Israel Land Development sells 51% of ILD Hotels to Dutch Tel Aviv, Israel-based Israel Land Development Co. Ltd. has sold 51% of its shares of ILD Hotels to Metallia Holding b.v., a Dutch fund. The transaction is valued at approximately $27 million. Ron Weissberg, CEO of ILD, says that the sale will enable the company to release capital for future development.
ILDC and the public own 75% of ILD Hotels, and 24.3% of the shares. The selling price was $2.40 per share, 50% higher than market price.
The ILD Hotels' chain includes seven hotels with 950 rooms, which are located in Eilat, Galei, Tiberias, Ramat Gan, Safed and the Golan Heights.
U.S., U.K. companies form Trinity Alliance International The Garibaldi Group and Gale & Wentworth of the United States and the United Kingdom, and King Sturge of the United Kingdom, Europe, China and Australia, have formed Trinity Alliance, International Real Estate Advisors. The new company will provide a cross-Atlantic network of integrated services to U.S. and foreign corporations.
The new company was created to provide tenant representation, facilities and property management as well as acquisition and disposition representation. Service to the United Kingdom, Asia and Pacific Rim will be provided to U.S. and foreign clients. Conversely, it will offer corporations in overseas markets the ability to purchase U.S. properties.
Trendwest Resorts enters Australasian region Trendwest Resorts, a Redmond, Wash.-based timeshare company, has begun doing business in the Australasian region. Trendwest Resorts, South Pacific will develop, market and manage timeshare resorts in Australia and Fiji. The company hopes to commence sales in the first-quarter 2000.
Trendwest Resorts is currently developing 76 units in a timeshare resort on Denarau Island, Fiji, with the first stage of 38 units already delivered to the WorldMark Club.
Hoping to acquire resorts on the Gold and Sunshine Coast of Australia, Trendwest has filled many senior management positions for the Australasian operations and expects to make further appointments.
S&P rates Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA Standard and Poor's (S&P) has given Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) of Spain a rating of double-'A'- minus long-term and single 'A-l'-plus for short-term counterparty credit and certificate of deposit. In related rating action, S&P withdrew its counterparty credit ratings on BBV and Argentaria. The existing debt ratings on BBV and Argentaria, and their related entities, were transferred to BBVA.
Latin American affiliates account for about 18% of BBVA's total assets, compared with about 28% for BBV alone. BBVA's strategy is to create a large banking group operating in southern Europe and Latin America.