EPRA 2014: European listed real estate companies may exceed the record $5.1bn (£3.1bn) of capital raised by the sector in 2006 this year.
Speaking at the EPRA 2014 conference in London, Exane BNP Paribas property analyst Nick Webb said that more geographic and sector diversification is setting the scene for a record-breaking year.
He pointed to a string of IPOs in Ireland and Spain in terms of new regions, and added that Germany is now better represented largely due to the expansion of the residential listed sector on the back of buoyant domestic housing prices.
Webb referred to research from Dealogic that said that in the year to the end of August there had been 10 IPOs, which have raised a total of $4.2bn. In 2006 a total of 26 deals raised $5.1bn.
Webb also pointed to M&A as another theme, noting that activity was concentrated on the residential and shopping centre sectors, since these were where larger companies benefited most from operational scale.
Webb said: “It’s been an active year for Europe’s listed property sector as investors see the REIT structure as an efficient and liquid means to gain exposure to an increasingly diverse range of real estate assets.
“Interest rate prospects are a dominant theme for the sector, but from the perspective of what they tell us about prospects for inflation and rents.
“The UK is enjoying significant growth in real estate prices that is broad-based, whereas this is not the case in continental Europe.
“Growth, or its absence, will be what will preoccupy investors as they examine real estate equity pricing.”
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
