TOP 100 INVESTORS: Blackstone triumphs as king of European jungle

Alternative asset manager Blackstone has emerged as one of the biggest winners in PropertyEU's latest ranking of Top 100 Investors in Europe.

Both Blackstone and its larger US peer BlackRock turned in a strong performance based on their assets under management in Europe at end-2013.

The US duo delivered the highest growth year-on-year after seeing their European AUM figures soar by more than 100%. Blackstone does not publicly break down its figures, but our figures for Europe are reliable estimates, sources close to the company have confirmed.

The same applies to BlackRock which did provide a figure for end-2013, but declined to do so for end-2012. However, it is clear that the company has made a huge jump in Europe following its acquisition of MGPA in early 2013.

In total PropertyEU's 100 Top Investors account for over €1 tln in assets under management in Europe. The non-listed sector accounts for by far the largest portion of the real estate investment universe or almost 75% of the total, according to our research.

The number one player overall was, for the third year running, AXA Real Estate with €47.7 bn in assets under management, a rise of 5% year-on-year. The Paris-based company also headed our sub-ranking of real estate investment managers affiliated to insurers.

Blackstone has soared in our ranking via a canny combination of acquiring loan portfolios, setting up a European logistics arm, buying a distressed retail developer and snapping up a number of ‘big ticket’ deals. The New York-listed giant is the uncrowned king of the European jungle thanks to its aggressiveness and weight of capital. In March, it launched its fourth European real estate fund, BREP Europe IV, which saw it raise €5.2 bn in just six months to create the largest fund of its kind in Europe.

OTHER WINNERS
Other big winners in our ranking include London-based Internos Global Investors which booked a rise of 105% year-on-year. Hines Europe (+59%), Tristan Capital Partners (43%) and Starwood Capital Group (+41%) were also strong climbers. Last year’s winner in percentage terms, Augsburg-based Patrizia Immobilien, continued its upward march in 2013 and added €1.5 bn of assets to its portfolio in the first half, bringing total AUM to around €13.3 bn compared with €11.8 bn at end-2013. In August, the listed German property investor headed by Wolfgang Egger said it is on course to meet its earlier announced target of boosting assets under management in Europe by around €2 bn to €14 bn in 2014.

The biggest loser in our ranking this year is Milan-based Prelios sgr. After embarking on a spending spree at the height of the crisis, the company has focussed on curbing its debt burden in recent years and is restructuring its business to focus on asset management and services rather than investment.

The Milan-based company continues to shed assets as part of its restructuring drive following its ill-fated Highstreet venture with Goldman Sachs’ Whitehall Funds, DeAWM (formerly RREEF), Generali and the Italian Borletti group.

CBRE Global Investors likewise slipped again this year, but its European head Pieter Hendrikse has predicted the Amsterdam-based company will become a net buyer this year.

OTHER RANKINGS
The ranking of the Top 100 Investors in Europe is based on independent research conducted by the PropertyEU team over spring/summer 2014. The Top 100 Investors publication is part of our ongoing research into the leading real estate specialists – both listed and non-listed – that are active in Europe.
In addition to the ranking of Top 100 Investors, the publication also contains sub-rankings based on capital source.

This year we expanded the number of sub-rankings to include real estate investment managers affiliated to:
* financials
* insurers
* pension funds
* brokers
* listed asset managers
* private equity (Europe)
* private equity (US)

The publication also provides rankings of:

* Top 50 listed real estate companies
* Top 50 pension funds active in real estate
* Top 50 fundraisers in 2013 and the year to date

More news and analysis is available in our latest edition of Top 100 Investors. A limited edition of the will be distributed at the upcoming EXPO REAL fair in Munich from 6-8 October. The publication is also available to premium subscribers in both digital and print format. Not yet a subscriber? Sign up today and get the 2014 edition of Top 100 Investors delivered free of charge.

Also, get the latest market intelligence at PropertyEU's Asset Management Investment Briefing hosted at Expo Real in Munch (Monday 6 October 17.00 - 17.50