Despite geopolitical uncertainty and a slowing in the economic cycle, investment in the global property market has seen a significant rise of 18% year-on-year to a new record high of $1.8 trillion (2017: $1.5 trillion), according to the report of Cushman & Wakefield, which examines global commercial real estate investment activity, assessing cities by their success at attracting capital.

Tesco and Carrefour have announced their intention to enter into a long-term, strategic alliance. The alliance will cover the strategic relationship with global suppliers, the joint purchasing of own brand products and goods not for resale. It will be governed by a three-year operational framework.

In its latest Global Sustainability Report, JLL reported exceeding its goals for carbon emission reductions within its corporate offices and committing to set a Science Based Target by 2020. Reductions achieved on a per corporate office employee basis included a drop in building-related greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent (vs. a target of 10 percent), building-related energy consumption by 12 percent (vs. a target of 10 percent), and rented area by 10 percent (vs. a target of 8 percent).

Hong Kong Central remained the most expensive office market in the world, according to CBRE’s annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs report.

PropTech influencers James Dearsley and Eddie Holmes have raised £150,000 of pre-seed funding from a raft of significant strategic investors to build the first global PropTech information and data platform. The new platform, called Unissu, provides the richest dataset of PropTech companies, information and research. Currently in closed beta, it will formally launch later this year.

Governments worldwide have been gradually forging greater transparency in real estate markets, addressing growing demands from investors and the public to deliver significant change. JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index reports slow but steady progress driven by increased regulations and new technology.

Despite being late in its cycle, the global real estate market is benefiting from strong returns for investors and a positive global economic outlook, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate – The Global Outlook for 2018, an annual forecast of global real estate investor sentiment published jointly by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The report notes that in this highly competitive, late-cycle property market, the real estate industry must embrace technology, new business models, and the concept of “space as a service”.

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), a division of the Macquarie Group, and GLL Real Estate Partners (GLL), the Munich-based real estate fund manager, announced they have signed an agreement which will see GLL become the real estate equity investment platform for MIRA in Europe and the Americas operating under its own brand. The terms of the transaction remain confidential.

Power Systems giant Rolls-Royce has appointed Cushman & Wakefield to an expanded role supporting its global property requirements following a competitive tender process.

New research from JLL challenges traditional approaches to evaluating city competitiveness by encouraging the global real estate market to rethink city performance metrics. In World Cities: Mapping the Pathways to Success, published in conjunction with The Business of Cities, JLL delves into global cities’ performance to evaluate their strengths and opportunities for real estate investors, developers and corporate occupiers.