Allianz Real Estate broadly doubled its European loan portfolio to €4 bn last year, an increase of €1.9 bn year-on-year, according to its head of European real estate finance, Roland Fuchs.
Allianz Real Estate broadly doubled its European loan portfolio to €4 bn last year, an increase of €1.9 bn year-on-year, according to its head of European real estate finance, Roland Fuchs.
Speaking at a press briefing at MIPIM, Fuchs said: 'Financing is a very dynamic investment line for Allianz. It's a risk-defensive way to invest more in real estate. While quality is more important to us than the actual loan figure, we're likely to do a similar amount again this year.'
Last year was a record year for the real estate arm of the German insurer, which undertook EUR7.3 bn in new real estate investments, including direct and indirect investment and financing.
'I'm impressed by the breadth of deals that we do,' said incoming CEO François Trausch, who took over from Olivier Piani in January. 'We don`t shy away from more complex deals or partnerships'.
The group also underwrote €1.7 bn of new loans in the US last year, taking the US loan portfolio to €8.4 bn.
Of the €3.6 bn in new direct and indirect real estate investments last year, 26% was invested in the US, 26% in Ireland and 20% in markets such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to Allianz Real Estate's CIO Olivier Téran. 'Diversification is important,' he said. 'We need an angle, whether it`s the size or the complexity of the deal.'
Further expansion is on the cards, according to Trausch: 'There is still scope to diversify in Europe and I'd like to grow our presence in Asia and to drive our expansion in the US. We're looking for a profile of economies in Asia that we don't see in Europe. We'd like Asia to account for 5% of our portfolio, including exposure to 24/7 cities such as Tokyo.'
