According to a survey by property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle, private equity investment in commercial real estate such as offices, shops, and hotels in Europe have hit EUR3.2 billion in the first half of 2013. The figure represens a 56% increase from the numbers recorded on 2012. The majority of the investments were made by a number of large US funds. These firms included Blackstone, TPG and KKR.

The report said that private equity firms have increased their financial commitments in European property bringing the numbers to its highest levels since 2007. Analysts said that fund managers have been racing to use the substantial cash-piles they have built up over the last two years causing the upsurge.

Since the beginning of the financial crisis, private equity funding has become an vital source of financial resources in the property market. Private equity funds have raised billions of euros in anticipation of sizeable sales of troubled assets and some real estate loans.