German CMBS enjoys boom time

Can corporate supply keep pace with demand?

Henry Cooke, a managing director in the real estate group at Barclays Capital in London, describes the shift in real estate ownership taking place in Germany as “staggering”.

That metamorphosis is occurring at a number of levels. First, it is being underpinned by corporate and municipal entities looking to unlock value from property holdings peripheral to their core businesses or responsibilities.

E.On’s sale of its portfolio of 150,000 apartments to Terra Firma in 2005 has been the most conspicuous example, not least because at €7 billion it was the largest private equity transaction ever completed in Germany.