Insurance companies are forecast to account for as much as 20% of the European lending market in the next three to five years, Natale Giostra, head of CBRE's debt advisory arm told PropertyEU in an interview during the EXPO REAL property fair in Munich.

'All insurance companies with an exposure to the real estate sector are expected to enter the lending market in the next months. They will look to build up a debt portfolio of around EUR 3-5 bn each which - just doing the maths - will translate into EUR 60 to EUR 100 bn ready to be deployed into the market by some 20 European insurers,' Giostra said.

Insurers currently represent as little as 5% of the financing market, he added. The past months have marked the entry of a number of insurance players on the European lending scene. While heavyweights like Allianz, L&G and M&G have had their debt platform up and running for months, others such as Generali have yet to make a move. French insurer AXA REIM in particular is understood to be buying debt in the secondary market, taking shares of property loans through syndication processes.