AXA Real Estate heads European investment ranking in 2011

Paris-based AXA Real Estate Investment Managers was the leading real estate investor in Europe in 2011, according to PropertyEU’s annual ranking of top-50 investors by acquisition volume. With an acquisition volume of EUR 2.6 bn, including EUR 900 mln committed to development, AXA RE edged ahead of US private equity firm Blackstone (EUR 2.3 bn) and French investors AEW Europe (EUR 1.9 bn) and BNP Paribas Real Estate (EUR 1.6 bn).

As all figures are rounded off, Germany’s Union Investment (EUR 1.3 bn) shared fifth position with UK fund manager F&C REIT and Pramerica, the real estate business of US company Prudential Financial.

Fund managers saw their share of the European real estate investment transaction pie increase markedly in 2011. The group accounted for EUR 24 bn, or 60% of the EUR40 bn volume generated by the top-50 buyers last year. This compares to a 38% share of the EUR37 bn generated by the top-50 in 2010.

Including AXA RE, nine of the top 10 buyers are fund managers. The only exception is IVG Immobilien, Germany’s largest listed company which spent EUR1 bn for both its balance sheet and its institutional fund business. The listed sector, overall, was not a major investor in 2011. Eight listed companies with a total acquisition volume of EUR4 bn feature in the ranking, accounting for 10%. In 2010 by contrast, the listed sector accounted for just under EUR9 bn, or 24% of the total.

Institutional investors were also less prominent as direct buyers in 2011. PropertyEU recorded a volume of EUR 6 bn for the group compared with EUR 10.2 bn in 2010.

The full article appears in the March issue of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the following link to subscribe: