While in the short term, economies such as France, Germany and Switzerland stand out for offering potential out-performance at below-average risk, over a two-three year period, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia should be included - alongside Nordics such as Sweden and Norway, the company said in its report.

"The traditional East/West classification has become less relevant as top performing economies are drawn from different regions of Europe... While macro national-level risk factors are very much in focus as the tragedy of Greek finances unravels, the growth outlook can differ quite significantly between cities located within the same area, suggesting a need to focus on regions and not just countries," according to the report. Some top performing cities for the next one-two years are expected to be in central Europe, notably Warsaw and Prague. Budapest and Bratislava are also expected to fare relatively well. In the West, the top performers are seen as Stockholm, Luxembourg, Zurich and Oslo.

C&W European research head David Hutchings says some economies ended 2009 on a weaker note but Q1 indicators suggest growth has restarted and almost all major economies are set to expand. Business has to live with some degree of uncertainty and cannot stand on the sidelines forever, he says. Less pricing clarity exists than many would like and less competitively-priced finance is available than needed. "Nevertheless, confidence has improved in the first quarter and both occupiers and investors sense that Grade-A property pricing is now around as good as it will get, but for secondary stock there is no urgency to invest or occupy property which should get cheaper yet," he adds.