European landlords planning to sell assets to cut down debt but buyers on strike

Europe’s biggest public landlords are planning a swathe of major asset sales as they look to slash debt in the face of rising rates. “The investment market is experiencing a complete transaction freeze,” Thierry Beaudemoulin, chief executive officer of Adler Group SA, said Tuesday after the company announced a debt restructuring deal following the failure to complete a series of planned sales. Buyers “are afraid to catch a falling knife.” Landlords are grappling with higher borrowing costs that are starting to feed through to asset values after central banks began aggressively hiking interest rates. The deal brings SBB’s string of divestments to as much as 25 billion kronor in total, which should bolster the company’s credit grade, Chief Executive Officer Ilija Batljan said in comments relayed by a spokesperson. Private equity firms including Blackstone Inc. have raised record sums for real estate investment that’s mostly sitting on the sidelines, signaling the possibility of more deals if and when would-be sellers begin to accept discounts.