AXA Real Estate Investment Managers saw total transaction volume including completed and signed deals rise to EUR 6.2 bn in 2011. Acquisitions totalled EUR 2.6 bn, including EUR 900 mln of committed development expenditure, compared to disposals of EUR 2.1 bn. An additional EUR 1.5 bn was committed to loans.

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers saw total transaction volume including completed and signed deals rise to EUR 6.2 bn in 2011. Acquisitions totalled EUR 2.6 bn, including EUR 900 mln of committed development expenditure, compared to disposals of EUR 2.1 bn. An additional EUR 1.5 bn was committed to loans.

The lending business will remain a key focus area, AXA said. Last week, the Paris-based investment manager announced it has raised a further EUR 2 bn on behalf of its pan-European debt strategy, bringing its total investment capacity to around EUR 4.7 bn. AXA has so far invested EUR 2.5 bn in property-backed debt.

Excluding transactions on loans, AXA Real Estate was active across Europe last year, with France accounting for 42% of total acquisition values, the UK 26%, Switzerland 17%, Germany 10%, and the remaining 5% comprised deals in Italy, Benelux and Spain.

In terms of disposals, France represented 67% of all activities, largely due to the sale of a 50% holding in seven Paris-based assets to Norges Bank Investment Management in a deal with a total transaction value of EUR1.4 bn, the largest office investment deal in Europe of 2011. Additionally in France, AXA sold the First Tower in the La Défense area of Paris for EUR 380 mln, after a heavy refurbishment programme. Other sales were completed in the UK (15%), Germany (10%) and Switzerland (5%).

Anne Kavanagh, Global Head of AXA Real Estate Asset Management, commented: 'As anticipated, 2011 was an extremely active year for AXA Real Estate and our team worked hard to secure quality properties and to realise the inherent value of our assets on behalf of our clients. We generated a real momentum during 2011 particularly in the number of joint ventures and club deals entered into. By increasing our transaction volumes, we have acted at an optimal time in the economic cycle to capitalise on further bank deleveraging and to take advantage of where we see fundamental mispricing by the markets as they struggle to come to terms with the new world of low growth.'

'With approximately EUR 2 bn of acquisitions already in the pipeline for 2012, we look forward to another busy year ahead as we will continue to utilise our pan-European platform to explore opportunities across the entire risk spectrum on behalf of our clients.'

AXA Real Estate claims to be the leading real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe with over EUR 42 bn of assets under management at December 2011.

The full interview with Anne Kavanagh appears in the March issue of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the following link to subscribe: