Owning a diversified portfolio of European property can mean more than holding the traditional range of offices, shops and factories. How about football stadiums, medical centres and cinemas? Axa, the largest real estate investment manager in Europe, owned stakes in all three last year – including holdings in two Swiss football stadium complexes that, between them, hosted nine Euro 2008 matches.

Exposure to such a high-profile tournament would excite many investors, especially considering the associated shops and apartments that Axa also held, plus the opportunities for client entertainment. But in a move that reflected the priorities of property managers last year, Axa sold its stakes before the tournament's first whistle was blown.