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Archive for February, 2010
Commercial Mortgage Originations Increase; Meijer Comes Up With New Concept (Thursday’s News & Notes)
Though we are no longer in a de facto credit crisis, the shortage of available financing continues to be a serious problem for both retailers and retail real estate developers. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that in the fourth quarter, there has been a noticeable pick up in the volume of commercial mortgage originations compared to a year ago. But overall, the credit situation remains daunting, according to a MarketWatch story. For more on credit availability and other news on retail and retail real estate, follow the links below.
- Our sister publication NREI reports that commercial mortgage originations showed an increase in the fourth quarter of last year.
- However, banks remain tightfisted on new loans, according to MarketWatch.com.
- Discount chain Meijer is debuting a smaller concept focusing on groceries in the Midwest, reports Indystar.com.
- The Street.com speculates that Movie Gallery’s new bankruptcy filing might benefit Blockbuster.
- The Wall Street Journal published a cautionary tale about a Memphis TIC investment gone horribly wrong. The Dirt Lawyer’s Blog follows up with some thoughts on unwise TIC investments that took place during the boom.
- The Wall Street Journal also has a story about Glenn Rufrano’s new career move.
- Atlanta Business News reports that shopping center locations can be a boon for medical practitioners.
- While other retailers are cutting back on both store-level and corporate personnel, Nordstrom plans to hire 250 people for its new store in Braintree, Mass., according to The Boston Herald.
- Bill Ackman claims Borders won’t face a bankruptcy threat, reports The New York Post.
- The CoStar Group predicts the bulk of new space demand in 2010 will come from retail franchise operators.
Retailers Post Same-Store Sales Gains in January
After a home run in December, retailers had another strong month in January. ICSC, Retail Forward, Retail Metrics and RetailSails have all crunched the numbers from the publicly-traded retailers that report same-stores sales and the figures show that the post-holiday shopping period went well for most firms.
Retail Forward, Retail Metrics and RetailSails concluded that same-store sales jumped 3.3 percent in the month while ICSC’s figures showed a 3.0 percent improvement. The numbers were slightly better than December’s result and made January the best month for retailers since July 2008 or April 2008, depending on whose numbers you look at.
ICSC’s tally shows that same-store sales rose 3.0 percent in January, the fourth time in five months that ICSC’s index has risen. The result was a slight increase from the 2.8 percent rise in December. ICSC expects retailers to post about a 2 percent gain in February. Read the rest of this entry »
Rufrano New President and CEO at Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield announced this morning that Glenn Rufrano has been named President and CEO of the company. Rufrano, who will also be appointed to the company’s board of directors, will join the firm March 22 following the completion of his tenure as CEO of Centro Properties Group.
Rufrano has had quite a run this past decade or so. He became CEO of New Plan Excel in 2000 when that firm was struggling a bit and through a series of shrewd dispositions and acquisitions and restructuring of its operations turned it into one of the largest and most successful shopping center REITs in the U.S. He spun that success into a deal where New Plan was absorbed by Australian limited property trust Centro Properties Group in early 2007. That acquisition–as well as the credit crunch–eventually got Centro into hot water because of the debt it took out in growing quickly.
In 2008, Rufrano was named Centro’s CEO and was successfully able to reach agreements with creditors that have enabled the firm to focus on operations. It’s in a much better place today. Rufrano was also tapped to serve on General Growth’s board of directors to help in its bankruptcy.
You also got the sense that Rufrano, after spending a lot of time in Australia the last couple of years, was looking to return home. He already has a replacement lined up at Centro. And he made some comments at a panel at the ICSC New York National Conference and Dealmaking that made it sound like he was ready to make a move. I thought he might become even more involved in General Growth. The move over to heading a large brokerage is an interesting twist. But so far, Rufrano has compiled a stellar track record.
Rufrano replaces Bruce Mosler, who became Cushman’s co-chairman of the board on January 1, 2010.
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Debate on CRE Continues; RCA Makes a Buy; Burkle Bids for Barneys and Barnes & Noble (Tuesday’s News & Notes)
by David Bodamer February 2nd, 2010
It seems like every couple of days there’s a new burst of articles on the state of commercial real estate. At one extreme, you have stories breathlessly running off one or two metrics that show that commercial real estate is going to destroy the economy. A common one is the Deutsche Bank figure that up to 65 percent of the $1.4 trillion in commercial mortgages coming due by 2013 will have trouble getting refinanced.
That works out to just more than $900 billion. It sounds terrifying. But let’s put that into a little perspective. The pain is being spread out over four years. (And that assumes none of these loans will get extended, which has not been what we’ve seen so far.) Remember, as well, that the idea is that those loans will have “trouble” getting refinanced, Read the rest of this entry »
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