EUROPE - An EPRA study has shown there is no pan-European pattern in corporate governance across property firms - though the mean scraped a pass, scoring 9.73 out of 16.

Based on publicly available data from 100 constituents of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Index, the study measured criteria such as the link between executive pay and performance, disclosure standards and board structure.

Researchers claim there is a link between remuneration and firm performance as a proxy for the delivery of shareholder value.

However a study of 39 property firms published last year by the University of Maastricht suggested there is a weaker link between pay and performance than between pay and company size.

The EPRA cohort includes markets such as Greece, which has a more selective market and would be expected to have more top performers, while more mature markets such as the UK would be expected to bring down the average.

Yet, interestingly, the UK results threw up both high-performing outriders and underperformers in corporate governance terms.

One of the limits of the study is it relied on firms' own public disclosures - rather than according to a common set of standards. However, one researcher involved with the study said EPRA could use the data gathered to set up a committee charged with looking at expanding current guidelines.

Best-practice guidelines offered by EPRA currently cover only accounting standards.

"It's difficult because corporate governance factors are non-quantifiable," said a spokesman.

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