List of figures ix Acknowledgements xi Glossary xiii 1 Introduction 1 Sub?-prime Lending Enters the Financial Vocabulary 2 The Global Extension 5 Commercial Property Market Context 6 Commercial Property's Role in the Wider Economy 13 Property Investment and Short?-termism 14 Measuring Commercial Property Market Performance 14 Book Structure 16 2 Long ?- term Changes to Property Finance and Investment 21 The Changing Role of the Banks in the United Kingdom 21 Property Development and Investment Finance 25 The Changing Investment Landscape of the Non?-banking Financial Institutions 29 The Other Main Players in Commercial Property 30 The Changing Face of Institutional Property Investment 31 Limited Partnerships 34 Jersey Rides to the Rescue 37 Unit Trusts and Indirect Investment 39 Conclusions 41 3 Economic Growth, Debt and Property Investment through the Boom 43 Global Economic Upturn and Debt Accumulation 43 The Property Boom and Escalating Debt 46 The Cost and Role of Debt 52 Development and its Finance in the Noughties Boom 57 The Weight of Money and Moving up the Risk Curve 61 Conclusions 63 4 The Anatomy of the Property Investment Boom 65 Commercial Property, the Macroeconomy and Globalization 66 Global Property Upswing 68 Market Trends in the Property Boom - Was Something Different this Time? 71 UK Investment Trends 76 Lending To Commercial Property in the United Kingdom 82 A Property Boom in an Irrational Market 83 Summary and Conclusions 88 5 The Global Financial Crisis and its Impact on Commercial Property 91 A Crisis Unfolds 92 The Impact on Global Property Markets 95 Capital and Rental Values in the United Kingdom Post 2007 98 But This Time the Bust Was Also Different 100 Investment Trends and Capital Value Falls 106 Changing View of Risk 112 Summary and Conclusions 114 6 Property Lending and the Collapse of Banks 117 The Crumbling of the UK Banking System 118 Royal Bank of Scotland 121 Halifax Bank of Scotland 122 Britannia Building Society and the Co?-operative Bank 130 Dunfermline Building Society 131 Irish Banking Collapse 132 US Experience 136 Discussion and Conclusions 139 7 Aftermath and Recovery 143 The Macroeconomic Context 144 Property Market Trends 147 Bad Bank Debts and Impairments: The Road to Redemption 151 The Response of Property Investors, Property Funds and Property Companies 158 Property Lending Post?-GFC 161 Implications for the Pricing of Commercial Property and Investment 162 Conclusions 166 8 Conclusions 169 Globalization 171 The Boom and Bust through the Prism of Valuations 173 Role of Banking 173 Irrational Exuberance 174 Could It Happen Again? 176 What Can Be Done? 177 Final Thoughts 179 References 181 Index 191.