JUNE 2011 |www.opp.org.uk


INDUSTRY High demand for ski resort By Geoff Hadwick


THE increasing popularity of France’s Grand Massif area, the fourth biggest ski area in the French Alps, has prompted the region’s leading developer MGM to bring forward plans to build more apartments there. MGM sales consultant Richard Deans


told OPP that “work will be getting underway soon on the construction of the company’s sixth development in the village of Samoens, on a scheme called Les Chardons Argentés which comprises nine traditionally- styled chalets together containing 70 apartments ranging in size from 43 sq m one-bedroom properties to four- bedroom, two-bathroom duplexes of 110 sqm.” And, he adds, “all come with


underground parking and storage space.” 20 of the apartments have been sold off-plan to date and they are all “available for outright purchase – not leaseback.” There will be an indoor pool for use by residents, and the project is within


DEVELOPER | 13


NEWS IN BRIEF Property switches barred


MGM | is fl ying ahead with plans for 70 new ski apartments in the French Alps


walking distance of the village shops, cafés and restaurants in the centre of Samoens. Also nearby is a cable car providing access to the Grand Massif’s 265 km of ski slopes. “Growing numbers of families are opting for properties in locations like these where they can pursue a year-round outdoor lifestyle,” says Deans. Summer activities include paragliding, white water rafting, archery, riding, cycling, fishing, golf, hiking and climbing. In the winter months dog sledging, raquette trekking and climbing frozen


Pre-approved builds


BRITISH residential developers are “focusing almost solely on sites for family houses, in central locations, where planning permission is already in place,” says the latest UK Residential Development Land Index released by global agency Knight Frank this week. This quarterly research also “notes


a rise in public sector property coming into the market” in the UK so far this year. The key fi ndings are: · The value of residential development


land in urban England edged down for the second quarter in a row between January and March, while values in green-fi eld areas grew by the smallest margin in two years; · Annual growth continues to slow; · Prime London land values bucked


the trend, with values rising by 2%, the fi rst increase since summer 2010; · Demand for well-located, “oven- ready” housing sites remains strong,


but sites in poor locations or for developments of houses worth less than around £200,000 are attracting limited attention in the South of the UK; · Public bodies, particularly local authorities, are increasingly active as they look for sensible returns on surplus assets; · Despite continued annual growth, average residential land values are still around 40% lower than their peak at the end of 2007.


waterfalls is available in addition to skiing.Samoens is located within the Haute Savoie region between Geneva and Chamonix, in the valley of the River Giffre, and the region offers access to ski slopes at altitudes of up to 2,500 metres. As many of them are north facing, they retain their snow for a longer periods than many other resorts. The development is within a one-


hour drive of other popular ski resorts such as Chamonix and Megeve ... as well as the lakeside town of Annecy.


Land case


Hussain Sajwani, Chairman of developers Dubai Damac, is reported to have fi led an international arbitration case against Egypt over a land dispute last month. The firm is also protesting against


the prosecution in a Cairo court last week of Sajwani - in his absence – and the decision to issue him with a jail sentence. The court ordered Sajwani to pay a


$40.5m fi ne in connection with his 2006 purchase of land at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Gamsha Bay near Hurghada. “Egypt’s recent criminal prosecution


New homes | are the focus for the UK


and conviction in absentia violate the treaty on investment protection and have caused signifi cant damage to his investments in Egypt and the wider Gulf area,” says Damac. Egypt’s new administration is reportedly clamping down on developers who benefi tted from corruption during the Mubarak regime.


DUBAI’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) announced that investors cannot be forced by developers to switch their money to another project if the scheme in which they had originally invested is put on ice. “Investors always need to go back to their contract and check how it deals with delayed projects since it is a contractual agreement between both parties,” says RERA chief executive Marwan bin Ghalita. “We will always support amicable solutions between developers and investors,” he adds.


Luxury partner wanted Specialist hotel real estate broker, Soric International, told OPP that it is “seeking a luxury brand and management deal for the 105- room Mountain Spa Marbella, a proposed luxury mountain resort development in Istan, 15 minutes from the Mediterranean coast.” The site overlooks Lake Concepcion to the hills of the Sierra Real Natural Park and, says Soric, “a fl exible master plan and all essential planning permissions and licences are in place for a proposed four-star plus resort of up to 24,000 square metres. The Málaga regional government planning authority granted planning permission on the site in 2004.” Soric managing director Mark Blick told OPP that because of the “lack of comparable luxury properties in the area, the Mountain Spa Marbella provides an opportunity to exploit a niche in the market.”


Israeli developer in India


ISRAELI developer Elbit Imaging and its subsidiary Plaza Centers announced last month that it plans to invest a minimum of USD $500 million to develop a series of new international property projects in India. The Tel Aviv-based developer wants to build a diversifi ed real-estate portfolio in India, consisting of residential, offi ce and retail projects it says. Elbit India Plaza Management Services is reported to be on the verge of signing its fi rst residential, joint-development project in Thiruvananthapuram on an 11-acre parcel of land. The company will develop the project with Pune-based Panchshil Realty and a local builder.


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