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BNP Paribas has priced the first property derivatives trade based on a basket of indices. To date, property derivative trades have been based on single indices but the Paribas trade signals a new direction for the market, and more basket trades are expected to appear.

As volatility spreads across the debt markets, the CMBS market is taking stock. Property derivatives are likely to increase volatility in the market and contribute to spread widening just as refinancing activity – a significant driver of CMBS volumes – slows. But as competition between commercial lenders and conduit lenders expands across Europe, the market is looking to new jurisdictions to maintain growth.

JPMorgan has hired Bill Schwab as a managing director and head of the structuring team in its real estate structured finance business. He joins JPMorgan from Deutsche Bank, where he was a founding member of the real estate finance team and head of the European real estate capital structure and underwriting. Before that, Schwab was real estate chief lending officer at Goldman Sachs. Based in London, Schwab reports to Jon Rickert, head of real estate structured finance for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

HSH Nordbank has appointed Leopold Reymaier to the key account management team in Hamburg as senior vice-president. He will be responsible for originating loans as well as a range of services related to real estate.

René Beckert is to manage real estate structured finance Germany, South, at Aareal Bank’s Munich office as the division’s director. He will be responsible for operating real estate business in southern Germany.

Hammerson, a £7 billion ($14.2 billion) UK-based property company, has sold 50% of its single largest holding as part of its capital recycling strategy. In July, GIC Real Estate, an arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, paid Hammerson £300 million for a stake in Westquay, a retail property in Southampton.

Financing costs in Spain’s real estate sector are expected to soar following debt market investors’ rejection of the terms of a €7 billion credit line to the country’s fourth-biggest construction company. Fears that the local housing market might be set for a downturn were blamed for the deal’s failure.

Siegfried Cofalka has been relieved of his responsibility as managing director of Oppenheim Immobilien-Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (OIK), the fund arm of listed German real estate firm IVG Immobilien, according a statement from the firm. His duties will be assumed by Peter Le Loux, chief executive of OIK. No reason was given for Cofalka’s departure.

Aegon Asset Management has hired three property fund managers away from Morley Fund Management in a move to enhance its pre-existing property offering. Aegon’s new appointments include Geraldine Davies, who managed the £4.2 billion Norwich Property Trust at Morley. The other managers who left with Davies were Philip Clark, head of the Morley specialist funds team, and David Wise, manager of the Norwich Property Investment fund. The trio joined Aegon in June as directors in the property group.

How Deutsche grew up fast in real estate

Morley Fund Management is building a dedicated property research team and has hired David Skinner to head it. Skinner has joined from Pramerica, where he was director of research, Europe. At Morley, he takes on the newly created position of head of property research, reporting to Nick Mansley, director of property strategy and indirect investment. At Morley, Skinner will lead the asset manager’s property research capability, taking a key role in business development and investment decision-making across Morley’s property funds. He will also contribute to the strategy and overall development of Morley’s property business.

Henderson Global Investors has appointed Jérôme Sebaux as head of property finance in France. Based in Henderson’s Paris office, Sebaux will be responsible for the financial management of funds as well as the provision of related services to the fund and asset managers in Paris. Before joining Henderson, Sebaux was a fund controller at ING Real Estate Investment Management France. Before that, he was international financial controller at JC Decaux and an analyst at Sanofi-Synthélabo in Berlin.