ABSTRACT
By 2002, the Germans had overtaken the Americans as the largest group of investors in European commercial property. Across the Channel, the funds turned to investments outside London to find higher yield combined with security of the UK's long leases. Paris was rejuvenating its stock with crops of new offices on the Peripherique, the main ring road around the city. The dotcom bust had sent a one-off cold blast of air across most major European economies, and coupled with the ongoing difficulties of reunification, had settled as a chill in Germany. Outside Germany, the funds appeared unstoppable but this was misdirection, diverting the attention from its performance at home. German housing offered billion-dollar deals in a restructuring play that passed large swaths of German property into international ownership. Investors quickly redirected their money away from poorly performing German-focused funds and towards those with greater international exposure and higher returns.
