EPRA/NAREIT Europe index finishes 2006 strrongly

The EPRA/NAREIT Europe Index continued to show strong returns in December (+8.8%), finishing the last year 49.4% higher compared with 2005. All major European countries were well ahead, according to the index: the UK led the field on 9.6%, followed by the Netherlands on 9.1%. France 'continued its excellent run' with a +8.1% performance and Sweden continued to bounce back (+8.4%) 'following poor results in the mid of 2006', the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) said in the latest index quarterly report.

Greek developer Babis Vovos added 39% in December to head the European and Global performers of the month. Gecina (France) added 28%, followed by Risanamento (Italy) (+24%), Big Yellow (+23%) and Daejan Holdings (+21%). At the bottom, the Denmark propped up the European performers list with Keops pulling back 21%.

London office landlord Derwent Valley finished the month up 10% and London Merchant Securities was just behind on +9%. The companies were boosted by Derwent Valley's agreement to buy London Merchant for about £2 bn (EUR 2.9 bn) in shares and cash in November. The deal will create one of the largest office landlords in London's West End.

The Europe Index is part of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index that track the performance of listed real estate companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) worldwide. The series is broken down into three index families, with a total of 37 indices, including six Net Total Return Indices.

The Global Real Estate index finished strongly (+3.3%) for the sixth consecutive month in December, but the three real estate regions turned in mixed performances in the final month of the year. Europe led with what EPRA described as its 'incredible' 49.4% performance for 2006. The Asia-Pacific region added 6.1% in December to complete an 'impressive' year on +22.1%. North America fell 1.1% in December, but ended the year 21.9% up.