Going Public in the European Property Share Market

Europe has had a listed property market for over a century. British property companies like Cardiff Property and Warner Estates were established in 1886 and 1891, and the continent even preceded England in this respect, with companies like the French Compagnie EMGP (1850) and the German Concordia Bau und Boden (1860). These companies are all still listed on European stock exchanges.

Despite this early start, the European property share market did not really get off the ground very quickly. For most of the early 20th century the European market consisted of only a handful of primarily British companies. Gradually, however, the market grew, and by 1984 the European listed property market consisted of 67 companies, which were listed in eight different countries with a total market capitalization of 12.31 billion US dollars. At that time the North American listed property share market consisted of 28 companies representing a total market capitalization of 5.28 billion US dollars1.

Since then, the European property share market has grown much more quickly. This paper will show how the European property share market has developed in the last two decades. We will first describe the key market developments that have helped the European listed property market mature, paying particular attention to the rise and performance of initial public offerings during the 1990s.