Investment in commercial property across Europe this year is set to fall by 25%, predicted Jones Lang LaSalle at its MIPIM conference today.

Nigel Roberts, chairman of EMEA research at the global property services company, said that this represented a fall of E60bn £46bn from 2007. He said that capital values across the continent should reduce by 10% at least this year.

‘But there are positives,’ he said, ‘there is still positive economic growth. It is not negative and it is not zero growth.’ Roberts said Germany stood to have the best economic growth with countries in central and eastern Europe following.

‘Europe will adjust at different rates. It is not just one market. This will present good opportunities to emerge at low prices particularly for those backed by strong equity.’

Julian Stocks, head of capital markets in England predicted investment turnover in the UK would fall by between 30%-40% ‘back to 2005 levels,’ and there would be a complete withdrawal of speculative property finance from the banks.’

Christian Ulbrich, JLL’s German CEO, predicted an increase on investment volumes from the E55bn (GBP45.1bn) recorded last year while Mark Jagger, managing director in Russia, said the number of shopping centre openings in the country would double year on year for up to three years and dominate the growth of its regional cities.

Russia would also see its first out-of-town business park this year.

This will grow to up to four schemes equal to more than 1m sq ft of office space by the end of the year.