US investors rushing into European property

London

US investors are buying European commercial property at a record pace as the dollar's eight-month rally and struggling economies on the continent make offices, shops and warehouses cheap.

US spending on European commercial real estate last year was just short of the 2007 peak, according to Real Capital Analytics Inc. The record may be broken this year after a strong first quarter, said Simon Mallinson, RCA's managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"With the US markets becoming increasingly expensive and with the currency advantage we ar…