US private equity giant Blackstone leads PropertyEU's ranking of the top 100 real estate investors by volume in Europe in 2011. The provisional ranking - based on the transaction list from PropertyEU Research - records 10 investments totalling EUR 2.6 bn carried out by Blackstone in Europe on behalf of its real estate funds last year.
These deals cover the office, shopping centres, hotel and logistics segments in the UK, France and Poland.
Led by Blackstone, private equity firms and fund managers represent just under 50% of the aggregate volume of EUR 52.2 bn for PropertyEU's top 100 investors. Paris-based AEW Europe is ranked second, with 51 transactions on behalf of a range of vehicles.
Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) is the only listed company among the 10 top investors in our ranking. The UK shopping centre investor owes its third place to the acquisition of the Trafford Center in Manchester from Peel Group for EUR 1.8 bn in January 2011. The deal was structured to give Peel a major stake in CSC and a seat on the board.
Almost exactly a year later CSC has sparked a controversy by announcing it planned to buy land from Peel in Malaga, Spain for a new 80,000 m2 shopping centre.
The initial outlay appears relatively modest: EUR 2.5 mln for a a three-year option to develop on two parcels of land, alongside a refundable deposit of EUR 7.5 mln. However, shareholders and analysts expressed concern about the potential £110 mln investment required to construct the shopping centre in a struggling market where CSC does not have any experience.
CSC owns 14 of the largest shopping centres in the UK but does not own any assets on the Continent.
Top 10 investors in 2011 by volume
1. Blackstone Real Estate (EUR 2,600 mln)
2. AEW Europe (EUR 1,901 mln)
3. Capital Shopping Centres (EUR 1,886 mln)
4. Deka Immobilien (EUR EUR 1,882 mln)
5. BNP Paribas Real Estate (EUR 1,634 mln)
6. Union Investment Real Estate (1,300 mln)
7. Cerberus Capital Management (EUR 1,000 mln)
8. Tristan Capital Partners (EUR 969 mln)
9. Legal & General Property (EUR 948 mln)
10. Allianz Real Estate (EUR 911 mln)
SOURCE: PropertyEU Research
An article about the ranking appears in the January/February edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe | 
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