The head of GE Commercial Finance Real Estate, the world’s largest property business, expects his company to buy or sell about £1bn worth of property in the UK this year.
Interviewed by the Financial Times, Michael Pralle, is responsible for managing a portfolio worth $35bn (£19.7bn).
The inclusion of joint ventures and debt would take that figure to $50bn.
The group owns MEPC, Haslemere and Benchmark and Pralle confirms he is interested in further expansion in Europe.
However, he offers no opinion on the future direction of prices.
Senior management at the wider GE organisation want to spend more money on property but are not gung-ho, he reports.
References: Financial Times 31/10/05 page 21
