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Companies across Europe are waking up to a new idea: they do not have to own or manage the property they occupy.
Consider British Telecom, under fire from its investors for its debt burden and poor share price performance. Earlier this year, it announced it intends to raise Pounds 2bn from the sale of its property portfolio, in a complex combination of sales and lease-backs covering 7,500 sites. The shares promptly rose 10 per cent, confirming, at a stroke, that investors are prepared to reward companies which use their balance sheets imaginatively. Corporate occupiers need not share a balance sheet with their real estate.
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