Allan Saunderson is managing editor of Property Finance Europe and a contributor to GlobeSt.com.

The two British-born heads of French REIT/SIIC Société Tour Eiffel have taken quick action to trim their company to the economic crisis, helped by the fact that, at €1.1 billion in assets, STE owns no large single properties. Going forward however, they are concerned that private equity credit problems could limit access to debt for the large SIIC community.

Robert Waterland and Mark Inch told PIE in an interview that the key for STE, the former manager of Paris's iconic tower that was a dormant listed shell when they reversed their George Soros-backed private equity portfolio into it in 2003, has been to lock in tenants and cash-flows by offering rental concessions in return for longer leases. However STE, trading like most European listed real estate at deep discount to historic NAV, has the advantage in the crisis that it focuses on suburban and regional offices and business parks.

"We have three saving graces," says Waterland. "One is a strong cash-flow. Even if it's going to suffer a bit, we have 450 or so tenants and many big names - Areva, French Post Office, Peugeot, Air Liquide, Alstom - while a lot of the other 40% are state institutions as well, such as local authorities. We have very few medium-sized firms so cash-flow remains around €75 million even after allowing for disposals."