Editor's Choice: Picture of good health

After seven lean years, Europe’s real estate sector is in a much better place.

According to our latest ranking of the Top 100 Investors based on real estate assets under management in Europe, there were far more winners in the past year than losers. Based on AUM figures as at 30 June 2015, we counted just 15 losers in the top 100. That compares to 34 in our previous edition, which was based on real estate assets under management as at 31 December 2013.

Our top 100 contenders are not the only ones that have made progress. This is the first time we are providing a ranking based on AUM figures for the first half of the year, which makes our Top 100 Investors more up-to-date than ever before.

Swiss Life wins top slot
As in previous years, our Top 100 Investors includes birds of many feathers – or, as we prefer to describe them, investment managers with different capital sources. And as in previous editions, investment managers affiliated to insurance groups threw up the absolute winner this year. For the first time since we started the Top 100 Investors ranking, we have a new name in the top place: Swiss Life Asset Managers.

But our previous champion, AXA Investment Management – Real Assets, is not far behind in second place and has also continued to expand its real estate operations. The top two highlight a trend that has become increasingly evident in the wake of the global financial crisis. Real estate investment managers linked to insurers have gained significant ground as a blood group in Europe in the past seven years as they seek long-term assets to match their liabilities and benefit from their low cost of capital.

They are not the only group that has piled on the pounds: Europe’s listed real estate sector also turned in a strong performance this year as consolidation and new flotations get under way from north to south and east to west. Indeed, the listed sector has increased its percentage of our property pie chart and is now the single largest blood group overall.

Listed sector outperforms
Six of the winners in our ranking this year in percentage terms are listed property companies, reflecting the ongoing consolidation in the sector. Vonovia, formerly Deutsche Annington, has shot up the ranking following its takeover earlier this year of sector peer Gagfah. Listed retail specialist Klépierre has also made a huge leap thanks to its takeover of Dutch REIT Corio.

Of the 15 losers we counted this year in our Top 100, most booked very modest losses. Overall, the top 100 accounted for total real estate assets under management of €1.25 tln at end-June 2015, a rise of 17% compared to the figure for end-2013. There are other signs that Europe’s real estate sector is in a much better place than it was post-crisis. Over the summer, a sizeable number of Europe’s listed property companies delivered stellar first-half earnings reports, reflecting the rebound across real estate markets. Moreover, several have upgraded their earnings forecasts for the year.

Another group that has made headway are the investment managers linked to brokerage firms. CBRE Global Investors remains the leader, but LaSalle Investment Management has narrowed the gap and Savills Investment Management has taken steps to improve its position via the takeover of SEB Asset Management. At the other end of the spectrum, a select group of boutique investment managers have also made advances with Tristan Capital Partners among the most conspicuous winners.

Our research into the wide-ranging players active in the European real estate arena is motivated by the goal of increasing transparency in the sector and gaining insights into the most active players in terms of transactions. We are not only interested in the biggest investors: on the contrary, smaller boutique players may be more effective in their chosen specialisations than their larger peers and most certainly have their place in our ranking. Our overview of the Top 100 most active investors in the European real estate arena is traditionally published in March. The focus of this particular ranking is on size.

Size is by no means the only measure of good health and not every contender in our Top 100 is in tip-top shape. But based on our latest research it is becoming clearer who the fittest players are.

We need your help!
On behalf of the PropertyEU editorial team, I would like to extend a big thank you to all those who participated in our Top 100 Investors survey this year. We hope that you will continue to support us in our efforts to paint a broad picture of the health of the European real estate sector.

The survey is open to all property companies active in Europe. We have now built a database with over 250 leading real estate investors which includes a wide range of blood groups: listed property companies, (listed) asset managers or investment managers affiliated to insurers, pension funds, financial groups or brokerage firms, and a host of private equity investors around the world.

Our goal is to discover and monitor the most active buyers and sellers in European real estate, their strategies and objectives. The result is a colourful picture of a fascinating sector that – inevitably – is constantly changing. Our print publications offer an impression of the health of Europe’s real estate sector. But we are able to offer more vital statistics via our Top Investors app, which is constantly updated. If you would like your company to be included in our Top Investors app, please let us know by emailing editor@PropertyEU.info. And remember, if your company is already included, you can update your figures and data at any time.

Meet us at Expo Real in Munich
If you are attending Expo Real next week in Munich, please come by the PropertyEU stand to say hello and pick up your own copy of Top 100 Investors. Our editorial team will be writing up news that they have collected from the stands and conferences and our PropertyTV crew will be conducting interviews which can be viewed on the PropertyEU website and throughout the Expo Real halls. Also watch out for our schedule of Investment Briefings that will be held throughout the three days of the fair. And if you have news, we would be happy to hear it!

Judi Seebus
Editor in chief