CANNES-If you listen closely, you can almost hear shades of the US investment market in the description of European trends. The low cost of borrowing, the uncertainty of other investment vehicles and the increasingly satisfactory performance of assets all contributed to a banner 2005 for plays in Europe. Interestingly, more than half of that activity was found in cross-border plays, a sure sign of the unification of Europe post-euro.

According to new research unveiled here by CB Richard Ellis this morning, 2005 logged some euro 140 billion in investment plays, a record-breaking 40% increase over the year before. Nick Axford, head of the firm's research department covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reported that more than half of that volume took place in the UK, with another quarter of the total represented by France.

Increasingly, investors are looking beyond their own nationality to place their capital, and Axford reported that 2005 also saw a 70% increase in cross-border acquisitions. "From outside Europe, investments by non-Europeans rose by 130%." That includes US players, he says, who doubled their European exposure, implying of course that the ongoing mad race for product in the states is driving capital to look overseas.

Opportunities were created, of course, in the midst of the German crisis in open ended funds, and Peter Schreppel, who heads CBRE's international investments in Germany, reported that in the second half of the year, funds actually sold more than they bought within their own country. But while selling on home turf, German funds also contributed to the cross-border activity and picked up more assets than they shed throughout Europe.