In 2008 the Benelux marketplace was dominated by the global financial crisis. During the second half of the year the crisis spilled over to the real economy. As a result of the significant shortage in financing, as well as the reduced trust in the markets, both the number of strategic mergers and acquisitions and private equity buyouts decreased considerably, compared with 2007.
The year 2008 marked the tail end of the golden era of Benelux real estate tender sales, characterised by large real estate portfolios. The reduction in the amount of available debt financing has affected the Benelux markets. Many real estate fund suppliers have been forced to drastically cut back their activities in 2008. As for institutional investors, in 2008, the real estate component in their total investment package rose too much due to falling share prices, which also led to fewer real estate purchases. Several cases of fraud have had a further negative effect on real estate. Changing market conditions require greater creativity.
