Allianz Real Estate plans to spend EUR 1 bn on property loans in Germany in 2011 in what would be the insurers’s first foray into property lending in Europe, the company’s CEO for Germany Stefan Brendgen told PropertyEU at MIPIM. 'We aim to spend approximately EUR 400 mln in the first half, if of course we can find attractive opportunities.'

Brendgen said Allianz would look at ‘sizeable deals’ of EUR 50-100 mln. Depending on whether the venture in Germany is successful, the company will look at expanding its debt-origination business in Italy and France at a later stage, he said.

The move into property lending has been prompted in part by the new Solvency II regulations for insurers which require them to make higher provisions for equity investments and which make lending an attractive option.

Allianz Real Estate is already active in property lending in the US, but would be the first Continental insurer to move into this segment in Europe. US insurer Metlife is already looking at this market in the UK, with the first financing deal being signed last month - the £107 mln (EUR 127 mln) joint refinancing of the Credit Suisse International HQ in Canary Wharf, London.

AXA Real Estate is also looking at the European real estate debt market, but is not active as a direct property lender. In January the French insurer raised EUR 350 mln in the first close of a pan-European debt fund.

Brendgen said Allianz would consider lending to buildings that it would otherwise have been interested in acquiring. ‘Whether you put debt and equity into an asset, in both cases it’s about understanding the risk involved,’ he said.