Asset managers raised more than €200bn (£175bn) in 2019 to invest in real estate – up 24% on the amount raised in 2018.

Of this amount, just over €73bn was allocated to investment in Europe, according to the Capital Raising Survey 2020 published by ANREV, INREV and NCREIF.

Pension funds continued to be the biggest source of equity, making up 30% of contributions, but their share has fallen each year since 2015, when they accounted for 46.4%.

Insurance companies have been increasing the amount of equity raised each year, contributing 22.5% of capital raised in 2019.

More than 60% of the equity was invested before the end of the year, leaving €80bn still to be deployed. This may be problematic for managers and investors as they adapt their strategies to cope with the global economic shutdown.

“Some investors who might have considered themselves underweight in real estate before the Covid-19 pandemic could now find themselves overexposed,” said Lonneke Löwik, chief executive at INREV.

“Certain sectors, such as retail and hotels, will likely experience even more turbulent times ahead. We’re facing a new macro-economic reality that will undoubtedly prompt a period of strategic reappraisal and asset revaluation.”