WE WOULD like to welcome you to another MIPIM, another opportunity for vital, face-to-face business, networking and knowledge-building in Cannes. Each year, we combine our strengths to create a show that reflects your needs and the issues of the day that count, shaped by economic, political and social factors.
The real estate industry is one of the most resilient communities in the world and we are delighted to bring together the built environment’s finest minds for another scintillating week of connection, dealmaking and debate. We have an incredible slate of speakers lined up to tackle the issues of the day, led by economic and environmental thought-leader, Jeremy Rifkin.
Real estate markets around the globe have faced fresh headwinds in recent times, altering the environment for dealmaking and changing the leasing landscape. Yet this community knows better than most that opportunity lies in crisis. We remain in awe and equally driven by your ability to see potential in a piece of brownfield land, anticipate the consequences of legislation, outsmart a downturn and rise to the challenges of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
At this year’s MIPIM, our Road to Zero area combines exhibitors who are at the forefront of decarbonisation efforts, while this year’s MIPIM Awards place sustainability, in all its aspects, at centre stage.
As a founding signatory to the UFI Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge, RX is committed to helping the events industry achieve Net Zero by 2050. Collaboration between organisers, values and exhibitors is key and we applaud you for your positive partnership on this front.
We wouldn’t ask you to tackle a goal that we’re not prepared to work towards and we are proud to stand side by side as we fight for the planet’s future together.
Whatever the winds of change bring, you can always count on MIPIM.
Nicolas Kozubek MIPIM Markets Director
NEWS
Co-living; French deals; GCC residential, German strategies, UK investment, green logistics, Japan’s decarbonisation; CEE growth metrics, office conversions, innovative technology, smart hotels
RETROFITTING: Incoming laws mean that the race is on to rescue assets
CO-LIVING: The asset class is taking centre stage in property portfolios
RESILIENCY: Industry experts see real estate entering a dynamic new age
Jeremy Rifkin
MIPIM KEYNOTE TODAY
All the session details, expert speakers, conferences and events, to help you plan your time at MIPIM and make the most of the latest research, insights and debate
SPOTTED AT MIPIM
The Logistics Pre-opening with Swiss Life Asset Managers provided a welcoming soace for industry professionals to get together over a mix of music, drinks and canapes
Taille minimale en HAUTEUR s 1
Advertising contact in Cannes Maryam Grandela maryam.grandela@rxglobal.com RX France, a French joint stock company with a capital of 90,000,000 euros, having its registered offices at 52 Quai de Dion Bouton 92800 Puteaux, France, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies Register under n°410 219 364 - VAT number: FR92 410 219 364. Contents © 2022, RX France Market Publications. Printed on PEFC certified paper
IN THE wake of the pandemic, co-living is on the verge of becoming a “mainstream housing movement” spurred on by societal and economic shifts, delegates attending a MIPIM-first event have heard.
Addressing a special forum dedicated to the emerging trend of co-living, Fabrice Simondi, one of the co-founders of Co-Liv, said an “epidemic” of loneliness was leading people to seek out new ways of living with others.
Co-founder and current president Gui Perdrix, who hosted the forum, called Co-Liv a “global association of co-living professionals”. Perdrix opened the event by describing the journey he and others have been on to bring the concept of co-living, and its financial attractiveness, to the attention of the real estate world. He said that when he first set out to convince traditional mainstream investors, he was not taken seriously.
“People didn’t believe in co-living,” Perdrix said. “They didn’t want to hear about it. Then we go forward to 2023 and we are in a completely different environment. Co-living is one of the hottest trends in real estate — and at MIPIM co-living is definitely here to stay.”
Perdrix was joined on stage by Nicolas Kozubek, director
of MIPIM, who praised the work of Co-Liv in bringing this “rising trend” to the market. Kozubek said MIPIM was increasingly becoming a space for conversations about “macro trends”, including sustainability and the post-pandemic factors that are driving co-living.
In response, Perdrix said operators, supported by a gradually increasing level of understanding about the ways in which co-living can work, had been able to switch “from small-scale to large-scale” in a sector that was rapidly “becoming very diverse”. He added: “From an investment perspective, it is becoming more attractive, especially since the pandemic, when there has been a large shift in living trends.”
Marta Rocamora Gonzalez, director of operations of CoLiv, said: “We have an opportunity in co-living to map out a new way. We can change the conversation. But if we don’t invest in the user experience, we won’t be able to reach the holy grail.”
Co-Liv was founded in 2016 as a means of driving the trend worldwide. The organisation now represents more than 450 co-living organisations and 6,000 professionals with a collective presence in 28 countries.
‘Co-living is definitely here to stay’
Holmströmgruppen’s operations are divided into three areas: ownership and management of properties, project development in the property sector and holdings of private equity companies.
We are a committed and active property owner in selected markets and sees to take initiatives and expand in all business areas when suitable investment opportunities arise. Added value is created through actively and responsibly carrying out the ownership role.
www.holmstromgruppen.se
EGYPTIAN developer Mountain View is at MIPIM with two major projects — a new community-based retail experience that it is developing with Saudi investor Sisban and its iCity residential concept, which it is taking to the KSA
market with another Saudi investor, Omar Kassem Alesayi Group.
The retail initiative is Mountain View’s latest collaboration with long-term partner Sisban. The initial projects will be delivered in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, after
which it is hoped the concept will be rolled out into other markets in the region and Europe, according to Rania El Kest, marketing director of Mountain View.
Mountain View hopes to deliver its first retail-based sites in Riyadh and Jeddah — the latter with a pop-up concept — as well as locations in Egypt before the end of 2023. El Kest said that the real estate initiative has been designed to be flexible and adaptable, with both the architecture and content in keeping with each site’s location. “The idea is that each will be an immersive experience and will help move people out of their bubbles and provide a place for them to interact and engage with each other. It’s important as a real estate company that we provide these places of social interaction,” she added.
REAL estate is lagging in its net-zero commitments not because of a lack of available technology but because of a lack of leadership among asset owners, according to Manish Kumar, executive vice-president of digital energy at Schneider Electric. Kumar is responsible for driving innovation in digital energy to help customers digitise and decarbonise their operations. He said there are plenty of technology solutions to the challenges of sustainability and emissions, but warned that the property sector needed better leadership, as well as better access to information to meet its net-zero commitments. Failure to address these issues could also result in owners sitting on so-called stranded assets, which could not be sold because they did not meet future energy and sustainability standards.
“Perhaps the leadership issue is because of the historic owners-ver-
sus-tenants situation, although that dynamic is changing,” Kumar said. “There is also often a lack of awareness of the technology that’s available right now and, of course, there is a far greater imperative for energy efficiency given rising prices.”
Kumar also noted that it is existing building stock that provides the fastest potential route to improvements, because there is far more of it than new development. He added that greater awareness and communication could help the sector and that owners may find increasing difficulty in leasing buildings that do not meet — or have a “clear path to meeting” — sustainability requirements. “Most major tenants are unlikely to sign a lease for a building for 10 years unless such a plan is in place,” he said. “Certainly, at Schneider Electric we would not.”
Kumar then called on occupiers to invest in people, as many im-
provements in energy efficiency and the optimisation of operations require skilled staff. He also said that the sustainability
Mountain View has already developed 16 residential communities in Egypt, mostly in upscale suburbs around Cairo and on the north and Red Sea coasts of the country. It signed a deal in November 2022 with partner Alesayi, which holds a large landbank in Saudi Arabia. The two companies are now looking to export Mountain View’s iCity residential concept — an initiative created in 2015 with US-based architect CallisonRKTL and New York consultancy Delivering Happiness — across KSA.
“This is a very exciting development for us, as it is the first time we have exported our Egyptian residential community expertise into another market,” El Kest said. “Alesayi has a very significant landbank in Saudi Arabia, so we are hoping to develop across multiple locations with them.”
Mountain View is hosting panel sessions on its stand in the Egyptian pavilion to discuss both its retail and residential initiatives.
of buildings would play a key role in attracting talent: “The younger generations want to work for companies that take sustainability seriously and the offices they work in will be an important element of that.”
Financial advisor to Dormio on the acquisition of Havana, a Dutch holiday park business, from Roompot / Landal (30 parks).
Acquisition creating the third largest vacation park operator in the Netherlands.
c. €380M Office
Financial and real estate advisor to CA Immo on the sale of its Romanian office platform to Pavăl Holding (7 assets).
The biggest commercial transaction in Romania ever achieved at only a 3% discount to Book Value.
c. €400M
Residential Financial and real estate advisor to Starwood and Avara on the sale of a Finnish externally managed residential company to OCP and GIC (2,200 units).
One of the largest residential transactions in Finland ever.
cbre.com/investment-banking
€200M Student Housing
Financial and real estate advisor to Smart Studios (12 prime PBSA assets, 2,013 units) on its sale to Round Hill Capital / CPPIB JV.
The largest PBSA transaction in Portugal ever.
Come and visit us at the Majestic Beach Restaurant, Location C17.A
c. €700M Residential Financial and real estate advisor to Catella on the sale of a German and Dutch residential portfolio to ZBI Group (4,000 units).
The second largest cross-border European residential transaction.
CBRE offers clients a unique combination of deep real estate knowledge, global institutional investor distribution and advisory expertise across the spectrum of real estate investment banking activities.
Financial and real estate advisor on the sale of U Store It, a self-storage company with 6 standing assets and 4 developments, to Heitman LLC.
The leading self storage platform in Ireland.
€939M
Financial advisor to Basecamp Group (11 prime PBSA assets in 4 countries, 5,341 units) on its sale to Xior Student Housing.
The largest PBSA transaction in Continental Europe ever.
€600M Logistics
Placement agent outside of Germany supporting the international equity raise. Pan-European strategy with focus on established logistics markets.
£1.2B
Financial advisor to Menora on an up to 20% minority investment into Brockton Holding.
Unique office and life science platform in greater London area.
c. €1B Data Centre
Financial and real estate advisor to On Value and Aquila Capital on the structuring of a European data centre investment platform.
Creation of a leading data centre platform focused on European secondary cities.
PAN-EUROPEAN investor Accolade is going from strength to strength in the Polish industrial market, while gearing up for serious growth across Europe, according to Jarek Wnuk, the firm’s managing director for Poland.
“Poland is the market where Accolade has most investments — and we are achieving some important firsts in the country,” Wnuk said. “Last year, we completed the largest park in our Polish portfolio, a brownfield development in Szczecin. This year, another park in Szczecin has received a BREEAM Outstanding certification. We were the first to receive the highest level for an industrial building in Poland.”
With some assets situated just 150 km from Berlin, while benefitting from a competitive cost base, Wnuk said that the Polish border regions had plenty to offer.
“Warehouses often serve vast are-
as, unlike other kinds of real estate such as shopping centres, and are capable of attracting important brands and occupiers.”
The large country offers diverse touchpoints to other countries, too. “Accolade is also a market leader in industrial space in several Polish regions such as Bydgoszcz, Białystok or Lublin,” he added. “All parks are modern and environmentally friendly. A significant part of the portfolio consists of brownfield investments.”
Around 40% of Accolade’s Polish portfolio is developed on brownfield land, underlining its sustainable credentials. This green focus runs like a thread through its ambitious and growing portfolio.
“While we started out in the Czech Republic and Poland, followed by Slovakia and Germany, we have since expanded into the Netherlands and Spain, and are looking to grow even further,” he
said. Accolade today owns 47 BREEAM-certified industrial parks and manages a 2.7 million sq m portfolio of commercial properties.
Accolade’s first BREEAM out standing warehouse was Park Cheb South in the Czech Repub lic, and was the world’s greenest warehouse on completion, with a record score of 90.68%. “That’s a direction we want to keep going in,” Wnuk added. He expressed great solidarity with Ukraine, while underlining that Poland’s economic and develop ment credentials have remained robust through this year of cri sis. “We stand with Ukraine, but also want to assure overseas investors that Polish business has proved extremely resilient and the country has incredible growth prospects.”
CEE REAL estate investment volumes surged to €10.7bn in 2022, a 6.6% rise on the previous year, according to new data from
Cushman & Wakefield. Poland continued to lead the region with more than €5.7bn worth of deals. Offices remained
the dominant asset class, particularly in Poland and Romania. The industrial and logistics sector experienced a slight decline, especially in the second half of the year. This was partly due to a lack of product, investors having to adapt to a higher interest rate environment and anticipating rental growth in Poland.
“Last year also saw a gradual expansion of interest towards retail assets, including shopping centres. However, the most consistent demand was reported for retail warehouses due to the unwavering popularity of ecommerce,” said Jeff Alson, international partner, Poland & CEE
capital markets, Cushman & Wakefield.
Total investment volumes in the Czech Republic came in at over €1.5 bn. The Czech real estate market is facing the same challenges as its neighbours, including higher financing costs and volatile energy prices. Its competitive advantages, however, are low vacancy rates and rental growth reported for industrial properties and centrally located office buildings. “Looking forward to 2023, we expect investor sentiment to improve across Central and Eastern Europe, with a gradual return to single asset transactions in the coming months, especially on the Polish industrial market. However, investors relying on their own financing will enjoy the upper hand,” Alson said.
Data from C&W shows CEE investment volumes grew more than 6% in 2022Cushman & Wakefield’s Jeff Alson Accolade’s Jarek Wnuk
CHIEF executive at Newcastle City Council, Pam Smith, is attending this year’s MIPIM to showcase prospects both in the city and also across the whole of North East England. It follows the publication of a devolution deal for the region in December that would involve the North East’s seven local authorities and could be worth as much as £4.2bn (€4.76bn) for the regional economy.
The deal, which is currently out for consultation, includes an investment fund of £1.4bn, or £48m a year, to support inclusive economic growth and support regeneration priorities; a £900m package of investment to transform the local transport system; and £69m of investment in housing and regeneration
aimed at unlocking sites for housing and commercial development.
“It’s more than £4bn of investment in the region and it’s going to deliver more jobs, more housing, and it’s going to be a
real game changer for the area,” Smith said.
The key to getting the deal over the line with government was demonstrating genuine partnership working between the councils, she added.
THE CANADIAN city of Winnipeg is open for business and rich with opportunities for investors of all asset classes, the leaders of local and regional development agencies
attending MIPIM have said. Winnipeg, in the region of Manitoba, is already the home of renowned manufacturing and industrial firms including Boeing,
and bus and coaching specialist NFI, due in part to its location close to the US border and major transport and logistics routes. And now the region is undergoing a high level of demand for new industrial space as well as more urban residential and commercial development.
Speaking to MIPIM News, Alberto Velasco-Acosta, director of foreign investment at YES! Winnipeg, said: “Winnipeg is at the gateway for trade with the US. It’s in a corridor, in a very central location.
“It has a great quality of life, with house prices at a third to a half the price of other cities in Canada.”
Manitoba is home to numerous airports, including Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, as well as having
“I think that the collaboration between the local authorities has never been better, because we all see each other’s strengths and that they complement each other,” she said.
“What we’re doing is going out and saying ‘this is the North East; these are our different strengths’.” Smith also emphasised that it is vital that any investment in the region is used to benefit all parts of society in an area that attracts high levels of inward investment but also high levels of deprivation.
“The most important thing is delivering an inclusive economy for residents,” she said. “I think that’s the beginning because you want everybody to share in success and fulfil their potential.
“With this bigger devolution deal, we can enable more jobs to come to the North East, but we can also make sure that we have a policy of reaching into our communities so they can feel the benefit of it.”
one of Canada’s highest proportions of French-speaking citizens. Margot Cathcart, chief executive of the Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp (RMED), said that the region’s key industries of agriculture, engineering, manufacturing and aerospace engineering were increasingly being joined by a growing number of “creative industry companies” bringing a “younger workforce”.
She added: “Demand for industrial land is very high all over Canada. Manitoba has lots of space for development and has very good access.”
The representatives of RMED and YES! Winnipeg are in Cannes alongside members of the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA) and The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The team is here to meet potential investors and developers across a range of sectors and asset classes looking for opportunities to satisfy a growing demand in Winnipeg and the wider Manitoba region.
SWEDISH medical technology manufacturer Getinge has announced plans to establish a new global centre of excellence for chemistry and UK headquarters at St. Modwen Park Derby. Within the facility, the MedTech company will bring together its chemistry and instrument decontamination business, as well as its UK sales offices, service functions and logistics operations. Getinge, which acquired Derby-based Quadralene in 2020, will be operational within the highly sustainable 78,000 sq ft (7,250 sq m) building in August 2023.
Getinge’s new department focused on chemistry and instrument disinfection, will aim to create new products and solutions for the healthcare industry.
Robert Richardson, development director, St. Modwen Logistics, said: “This deal would not have been possible were it not for the support received by Marketing Derby and Derby City Council.”
SOME 62% of landlords lack tools to understand how tenants utilise facilities and amenities despite a push to prioritise tenant retention and experience, according to a new report from commercial real estate technology platform VTS.
The VTS global landlord report highlights landlords’ top priorities as the economic climate continues to present a challenge for the commercial real estate industry. Based on a worldwide survey of hundreds of top industry leaders, the report shows that as new office demand continues to falter, 87% of landlords say that the retention and renewal of current tenants are more of a focus in 2023 than acquiring new tenants.
Nick Romito, CEO of VTS, said: “As the office market remains cool, it’s more important than ever that landlords are placing a focus on retaining the tenants they already have.
“These days, it takes more than just
negotiating lease terms to remain competitive. Employees are demanding activated and connected buildings that make them want to come to work, and companies are seeking flexible space options that enable them to scale up or down as needed and provide their workers with flexibility in where they work.”
With new office demand currently at 46% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest VTS office demand index (VODI), 2023 promises to be a challenging environment for landlords as they face major headwinds. This means that strengthening existing tenant relationships and investing in the technology needed to draw employees to their workplaces will be key to success, as just over half of landlords still struggle with daily tenant occupancy rates under 30%. The report concludes that marketing automation is the top marketing
investment for landlords in 2023, followed by photo content, corporate websites, content management solutions and digital advertising.
GLOBAL real estate investment
company
Kennedy Wilson has signed a new, 10-year lease with pharmaceutical company Omega Pharma for 21,000 sq ft (1,950 sq m) of Grade A office space at One Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, London. The new lease brings the prime office building, acquired off-market by Kennedy Wilson in June 2021, to 100% occupancy with a long weighted average lease term of 8.5 years.
Other tenants at One Embassy Gardens include Marie Curie, which recently moved into 14,000 sq ft of space, and publisher Penguin Random House, which occupies 82% of the asset. Located in London’s Nine Elms district in Zone 1, One Embassy Gardens includes 156,000 sq ft of modern office space across 11
floors and is BREEAM Excellent certified.
“This letting demonstrates the demand for prime office space in Nine Elms, one of the most exciting submarkets of London,” said Matthew Milroy, manag -
ing director at Kennedy Wilson Europe. “A combination of One Embassy Garden’s high-quality space, sustainability and wellness credentials, and landmark location has led to strong occupier interest.”
The Italian market in 2023: trends and perspectives, opportunities and projects
market perspectives
exclusive investment opportunities selected for MIPIM case studies
A Networking Cocktail will follow the conference at the Verrière Californie
Leader’s Perspective Stage -Hi5 Studio
Cannes – Palais des Festivals, Leader’s Perspective Stage -Hi5 Studio March 15th, 2023, 17.00 – 18.30
The main Italian players will share their experience and will provide valuable insights into the Italian Real Estate market
Discover the best real estate investment opportunities in Italy
GLOBAL property consultancy
Knight Frank has unveiled a new ESG research team headed by insider Flora Harley.
Anthony Duggan, global ESG board chair at Knight Frank,said: “Our research team’s quantitative analysis of trends guides our clients through times of turbulence and uncertainty. The ESG space is fast-paced and complex, and the creation of a dedicated ESG Research team, led by an intelligent thought-leader like Flora, will drive real value for our clients. We’re confident this new team will develop and deliver unique insights that shift thinking inside and outside our sector.”
Commenting on her newly-created role, Harley acknowledged the “challenge and complexities of ESG for our clients”. She said the creation of a dedicated
research would be “an amazing opportunity to provide value to our clients, for whom ESG is an increasingly fundamental consideration.”
The move to create a new ESG research team complements Knight Frank’s wider expansion of ESG advice and expertise across its commercial business, following the appointment of Jonathan Hale as head of ESG Advisory and Harriet Hix as senior ESG Consultant last year. Harley has more than eight years’ experience as a researcher with five of those being at Knight Frank, where she has provided expertise for flagship publications including The Wealth Report. Prior to this, she worked as an economist at KPMG’s consulting business, as well as within the UK Government.
OAKTREE Capital Management-backed development lender Silbury Finance has provided residential developer Kingsbridge Capital with a £24.7m (€28m) senior loan. The loan will support the site acquisition and conversion of an office block in Bracknell, Berkshire, into 150 sustainable residential apartments.
Known as 100 The Ring, the redeveloped property will comprise studios and one-bedroom apartments for sale, ranging from 415 sq ft (39 sq m) to 757 sq ft, over seven floors. The first homes will be finished in H2 2024. The development is a short walk to Bracknell train station, which connects to London Waterloo in an hour. Residents will benefit from the development’s proximi -
ty to The Lexicon, a new £240m, social and cultural hub. House prices in Bracknell increased by 7% in 2022.
Since launching in January 2021, Silbury has originated 16 loans
GLOBAL real estate advisor Cushman & Wakefield’s new European Macro Outlook is forecasting a mild recession in the UK and Eurozone in the first half of 2023. This will be followed by improved growth for the property market in the latter half of the year as the macro headwinds begin to fade.
Despite citing risks to its growth forecast, Sukhdeep Dhillon, head of EMEA forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield, was cautiously optimistic: “Recession poses a challenge for occupiers and investors. But growth is nonetheless beginning to gather momentum.”
totalling £579m of new finance to 12 different borrowers. Jamie Rahder, investment director at Silbury Finance said: “With the delivery of new housing in the UK forecast to reach the lowest levels since the second world, supporting SME developers like Kingsbridge Capital is more critical than ever.”
Drilling down, Dhillon said: “There is tremendous capital waiting on the sidelines. It’s a waiting game until the contours of this recession and interest rates become more visible.”
In terms of specific sectors, demand for high-quality office is set to intensify but will soften for lower-grade space. Vacancy in logistics remain near record lows and retail rental levels are stabilising. Dhillon added.
“Ageing populations and the pandemic have spurred an acceleration in investment in many alternative sector strands, including life sciences, data centres and later living.”
POST-World Cup Qatar is ready to show real estate investors that the country has a long and sustainable future, while capital commitments to Qatar can also bring residency benefits in the state’s tax-free environment.
At MIPIM, Qatari firm United Development Company (UDC) is gearing up to showcase premium residential apartments and townhouses at The Pearl Island, a modern mixed-use development which it describes as Qatar’s fastest growing community. The scheme features unique Mediterranean architecture as well as world-class residential amenities and facilities, in addition to pristine beaches and more than 370 retail, F&B and entertainment outlets.
A UDC spokesperson told MIPIM News: “At Gewan Island, meanwhile, Crystal Residence’s iconic apartments exude the best in luxury modern living, offering spacious well-appointed interiors as well as rooftop amenities. They are also sublimely positioned at the heart of Gewan Island’s vibrant climatized retail district and seaside promenade enjoying exclusive sea and city views.
“The Pearl and Gewan Islands are strategically located within 5 km of all major landmarks and
attractions in Doha, 25 minutes away from Hamad International Airport. They are considered prime residence locations and the new heart of Doha offering the best lifestyle experience and the perfect balance between nature and city life.”
UDC’s diversified property offers include a 7% return on investment and permanent residency benefits in Qatar. Assets at The Pearl and Gewan Islands are open for foreign ownership, as per Qatar’s latest governmental decision, while various leasable retail spaces in vibrant commercial districts that enjoy high footfall and brand visibility are expected to attract international brands.
Qatari real estate company, Msheireb Properties, meanwhile, will be presenting Msheireb Downtown Doha, which it describes as one of the world’s first fully built smart and sustainable city districts and a destination for living, leisure, and business.
“Its prime location in the heart of the capital makes it the perfect location for retail, commercial, residential and civic services. Msheireb Downtown Doha is fully sustainable with all buildings either Gold or Platinum LEED-certified and adhere to the highest standards in green
building services,” said Ali Mohamed Alkuwari, CEO Msheireb Properties “Blending the best of Qatar’s architectural heritage with modern design, Msheireb Downtown Doha is also smart
since its inception and adopts the latest advanced technology features in its infrastructure, and services to cope with the next generations’ needs.
As a mixed-use urban development, Msheireb Downtown Doha encompasses a wide spectrum of luxury residential spaces and retail units, in addition to a range of mixed-use and commercial buildings that offer a wide array of retail and business services. It will also suit international businesses, Alkuwari said. “Msheireb Downtown Doha provides an enabling environment for businesses and entrepreneurs, alongside major corporations. It offers diverse office space options which meet their corporate demands, supported by state-of-the-art technology, advanced infrastructure, and world-class amenities, including seamless connectivity within the city, over 10,000 integrated underground parking spaces and bespoke high-quality interiors that serve to enhance its aesthetic appeal.
“Investors can thrive in their business now in Msheireb Downtown Doha by choosing the perfect location and work environment for their company. Several global corporations are already based in Msheireb Downtown Doha, including Google, ELEV8, HEC Paris, HSBC, Volkswagen, Qatar National Bank, Vodafone and many others.”
5 Ks. Skorupki Street 00-546 Warsaw, Poland +48 22 58 37 200 office@karimpol.pl
25 Armii Krajowej Street, 31-150 Cracow, Poland +48 512 127 557 info@nohoinvestment.com
1 ONZ Roundabout 00-124 Warsaw, Poland Robert Stachowiak, CEO SGI +48 601 337 488, robert.stachowiak@sgi.pl
61B Koszykowa Street 00-667 Warsaw, Poland
+ 48 22 221 81 91 biuro@cordiahomes.com
68/64 Białobrzeska Street 02-325 Warsaw, Poland +48 572 291 023 biuro@g4e.pl
1 Europejski Square 00-844 Warsaw, Poland
+ 48 22 455 16 00 poland@ghelamco.com
12 Jana Pawła II Avenue 00-124 Warsaw, Poland +48 (22) 850 91 00 sekretariat@phnsa.pl
173 “Solidarności” Avenue 00-877 Warsaw, Poland
Adrian Karczewicz Head of Divestment CEE adrian.karczewicz@skanska.pl
WHILE many companies are talking the talk on ESG, walking the walk is just as important, according to Marcin Juszczyk, board member of Polish developer and investor Capital Park. “We consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues to be part of our investment strategy and are constantly working to develop them throughout our business activities,” Juszczyk told MIPIM News.
The transformation of the former
Norblin Factory in Warsaw into a pioneering mixed-use space has become a calling card for the firm. “Norblin Factory is definitely the most complex and the most successful project developed by Capital Park Group. It took us only two weeks to buy this jewel but the entire lifecycle from acquisition, through pre-development works, design and construction up until getting of the occupancy permit took almost 13 years,” Juszczyk said. “This mixed-use
urban regeneration project encompasses 65,000 sq m of leasable space, including 41,000 sq m of fully occupied A+ class office space and remaining space dedicated to a mix of different retail and service functions.”
The project combines modern architecture with 10 historical buildings — a ll registered monuments — and 50 pieces of machinery from the former silverware factory brought back to life and shown in a kind of open museum. It even includes the first and only Apple Museum Poland, exhibiting every piece of tech that Apple has ever produced, plus a selection of music bars, standalone restaurants and clubs. Yet Capital Park isn’t resting on its laurels — “we love such projects,” Juszczyk added. “The next such project in our pipeline is Nowy Wełnowiec in Katowice. This project will represent a complete revitalisation of the former Zinc Works located on 43 hectares of space in the Wełnowiec — Katowice district and partially in the neighbouring town of Siemianowice. The site is conveniently located 2 km
north from the city centre. Such large-scale project is designed as a self-sufficient multifunctional district and implements a 15-minute city concept, with a wide range of functions from the dominant residential function, through various retail concepts, offices, services, gastronomy, educational, cultural and entertainment facilities — to build a place where people can work, live and play.”
YOU MIGHT have noticed something a little different when exploring MIPIM’s Road to Zero and Propel zones this year: they are rather out of the ordinary as far as exhibition areas go. And there’s a good reason for that, according to Raphaël Benbassa, co-founder of experiential design firm Bleu Dalcans.
“We were asked to build a disruptive and yet responsible scenography while highlighting the two spaces,” Benbassa said. “We also
created a lively, scenic display for the entrance, stairs and corridors which clearly identifies the two spaces, through the use of recycled materials.”
Blue Dalcans, which came up with the design solutions alongside partner Mon Lumi, has over 18 years of experience in the design and installation of client experiences in real estate, retail spaces and hospitality for common spaces and marketing suites. The firm
specialises in transforming digital inputs into experiential messages and uses recycled and organically sourced materials to change the perception of spaces.
Benbass added: “It’s no coincidence that we decided to avoid using LCD screens and video-projectors in these areas, and focus on natural materials such as wood and canvas, while reusing lamps and screens to be consistent with the messaging behind the Road to Zero and Propel zones.”
Vous envisagez de réaliser une transaction immobilière et vous souhaitez le faire en toute sécurité. L'accompagnement par un avocat expert en droit immobilier vous permettra de bénéficier de ses conseils pour réaliser un choix éclairé , une assurance quant à une rédaction adaptée des actes juridiques ou contrats nécessaires à la réalisation de l'opération envisagée et enfin, d'une défense aguerrie en cas de contentieux.
DES INTERETS DE SON CLIENT : Depar son expertise endroit immobilier, L'avocatveilleraeneffet à mener les transactionsà leurterme en s'assurantdelaprotectiondes intér ts deson client. Or, larédaction des différentscontratsest une étape cruciale, les transactionsimmobili res reposantsur des mécanismes juridiquessouvent tr scomplexes.
L'avocatsaura notamment adapter les différentscontratsafindeprotégerau mieux les intér tsdeson client, en stipulant par exemple des conditions suspensives impératives pourla réalisation delavente.
L'avocatdispose ainsi d'une expertise lui permettantd'évitertoutesles difficultés liées à une éventuelle mauvaiseinterprétationducontrat ou deses clauses, lebut étant d'évitertout contentieux, perte detemps pour l'ac eteuretfrein à ses investissements. Leclientseraassuréque latransaction sedéroule danslerespect ducadre légal etréglementaire, parfois complexeà appré ender danslecas detransactionsimmobili res d'envergure.
A fortiori, l'émergence d'unsecteur immobiliermondial entrainantla complexificationdes transactions immobili resrendl'accompagnement par unavocatd'autantplus indispensable.
Edmond Verdier Avocat à la cour-Associé Sylvie Djuric Avocat à la cour-Associée
L'avocat offre également un accompagnement fiscal à l'acquéreur, en le conseillant pour les montages et optimisations possibles adaptés à ses attentes.
Enfin, l'expertise juridique permet à l'avocat également d'intervenir pour optimiser fiscalement la transmission des biens immobiliers de l'acquéreur à toute personne de son c oix.
II.L'AVOCAT MANDATAIRE EN TRANSACTION IMMOBILIÈRE
Pour illustrer bri vement cette nouvelle activité des avocats, l'avocat se retrouve entre le notaire et l'agent immobilier, à intervenir sur tous les aspects juridiques de la transaction, d'un cote, et à réaliser la rec erc e de cocontractant pour la transaction sou aitée par son client de l'autre. En effet, en dispensant l'accompagnement juridique nécessaire, l'avocat communique sur le bien concerné, le présente aux potentiels acquéreurs intéressés et intervient aux cotés de son client dans la p ase de négociation.
L'avocat mandataire en transaction immobili re est donc un avocat comme les autres, mais il met également à votre disposition sa deuxi me casquette en exer ant un mandat pour exécuter vos projets immobiliers que ce soit à l'ac at ou à la vente.
En guise de conclusion, nous soulignons que l'immobilier est devenu un investissement attra ant à long terme pour les investisseurs en qu te de rendements stables dans une économie incertaine avec un droit immobilier de plus en plus international. Toutefois, pour que votre investissement immobilier soit un véritable atout, il convient de conna tre les nombreuses stratégies juridiques et fiscales existantes, et c'est précisément ce que vous apporte le cabinet d'avocats LE LO .
Lexlor est un cabinet d'avocats d'affaires qui concentre son activité sur le droit fiscal et de l'immobilier, et dont les associés fondateurs sont mandataires en transactions immobilières.
Nos avocats sont tous dotés d'une expertise dans le secteur de l'immobilier en France grâce à un réseau international. En conséquence, ils sauront répondre à vos besoins et vous fournir l'éclairage juridique et fiscal nécessaire pour mener à bien vos transactions immobilières.
Rencontrez notre équipe au MIPIM 2023 et découvrez nos services.
Rendez-nous au stand : R7.C25
REAL estate investment volumes in southern Europe — Spain, Portugal and Italy — reached a record high of €31.7bn in 2022, a 36% increase on the previous year, according to new research from advisor Savills.
Multiple factors have played into the region’s success, Savills said, including the return of domestic consumption post-COVID and these markets being more insulated against energy price hikes than the rest of Europe. However, southern Europe felt the effects of the pandemic more harshly than many other European countries, with Italy and Spain among the first markets hit. With their heavy reliance on tourism, these markets suffered greatly from travel bans and lockdown restrictions and, as a result, their rebound has been greater than elsewhere in Europe. Strong tourism seasons post-pandemic and the return of retail
spending led to higher investment volumes in 2022. Growth was particularly driven by the service sector, with hotels and leisure once again a strong source of income.
“Southern Europe had the largest recorded share of total European investment volumes last year at 11%, up from 6% in 2021 and higher than the previous fiveyear average of 7%. On a city-bycity level, for the first time since 2011, Milan received a higher volume of investment than Madrid,” said Georgia Ferris, European research analyst, commercial research, at Savills.
Carlos Ruiz-Garma, Savills’ director of European capital markets, added: “While we don’t expect another record year for the region in 2023, some market fundamentals will remain solid and will continue to attract investors. This is notably the case for ‘beds and sheds’.
Across southern Europe, the struc-
tural supply and demand imbalance for multifamily and logistics properties favours rental growth, or at least stabilisation, and occupier demand will continue to support the investment market.”
EUROPEAN purpose-built residential specialist Nido is to integrate Smart Studios, its Portuguese student accommodation and co-living businesses, into its pan-European operating platform. Smart Studios will be rebranded as Nido as the next phase of Round Hill Capital’s strategy following its acquisition of Nido on behalf of its RHESA joint venture with CPP Investments, which has a long-term target of building a circa €2bn portfolio.
The RHESA portfolio consists of some 5,000 beds across 16 assets, primarily managed by Nido as part of its wider 9,000-bed portfolio across Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK.
The Smart Studios portfolio comprises approximately 2,000 beds, the majority in the Lisbon metropolitan area. Around 900 beds
across five locations in Lisbon and Oporto are open to students and young professionals, with the balance across four residences due to open over the next two years.
“Investing in high quality, modern residential assets with good
environmental credentials, located in leading European cities with strong supply/demand fundamentals, continues to be a focus and we will continue to look for opportunities,” said João Pita, head of Portugal at Round Hill Capital.
SPANISH real estate investment and asset manager Azora has strengthened its position in the US with an $78m commercial portfolio acquisition of two office buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio. The deal brings its total US investment in 2022 to more than $450m. The acquisition through subsidiary Azora Exan totalled 28,000 sq m, leased on a 10-year agreement to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre. In 2022, Azora Exan also acquired two offices in Chicago and Miami, and two shopping centres in Florida, as part of its non-discretionary strategy of investing in core, core-plus, value-add and opportunistic acquisitions across office, industrial and retail sectors. Azora Exan has also purchased more than 800 homes for rent in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia since its launch in May 2022. The residential-for-rent fund has a total investment target of $650m over the next three years.
Adding value and energy to your day
Every day, from 9:30 am, the Greater Porto stand promotes a natural network moment among visitors, exhibitors and investors. Breakfast is the ideal starting point for days that are long and filled, and it takes place simultaneously with a business showcase, allowing you to enjoy your morning while networking with your pairs.
Fermenting action, cheering to the future
Two winemakers. Port wine. Chocolate.
Every day, from 12pm, the Greater Porto stand becomes a space of connection and harmony. Port wine pairing with chocolate, creating the right space and time to ferment ideas and turn them into energy.
GREATER PORTO X BCN
A great bridge to a greater future
This is the moment to celebrate a natural alliance between two similar spaces. Greater Porto and the metropolitan area of Barcelona share the spirit of openness to diversity and vibrant cultural environments, and, also, the same natural context. Creating a bridge between these territories appears to us as an inevitable and celebrated partnership.
Cities are currently experiencing a moment of transmutation, with challenges at different levels. Joining forces and exploring synergies can mean finding new answers, new paths, and new solutions for evolution.
Every day, during the day, the Greater Porto stand becomes the stage of the most interesting projects that inhabit in these three cities. A stage for demonstration, sharing and conversation, thus allowing a perfect engagement between MIPIM visitors, the project representatives and the cities where they are located.
14-15-16 of March
STAND LOCATION: P-1.J54 / P-1.K57
Porto Tónico and Porto Rubi
On the 15th, at 5 pm, it is time to toast the future of investments in Greater Porto, to make an ode to the paths that are starting in MIPIM. A moment to celebrate cities with a place of innovation, agglomeration of economies, expansion of ideas, intersection of cultures. A space where talent meet, a hub of opportunities.
On the 16th of March, the conference “Building Territories of The Future” will be promoted.
In a RoundTable format and in a spirit of dialogue, the highest representatives of partner cities and regions debate the meaning and significance of a “City of the Future”. Porto, Matosinhos, Gaia, Madrid and Málaga are exploring potential synergies here to respond to the different challenges inherent in the development of cities and populations.
Next “Collaborative Cities: Designing, implementing and sustaining strategic partnerships” brings together representatives of four innovative companies that, in partnership with the public sector, have contributed greatly to the development of cities. Greater Porto has been attracting talent, startups, and international companies with diverse business models; Lionesa, Revito, Chave Nova and Retail Mind joined this roundtable to reinforce that developed cities understand the dynamics of collaboration between sectors and companies as a fundamental and unavoidable principle.
Taylor´s Dry and Chip A greater future when we are together
A toast to the future and to the new paths that will be drawn following this meeting. A cocktail with Taylor’s signature, which so well embodies evolution merged with tradition, featuring the charm of the cities that make up Greater Porto. PARTNER:
GREAT CITIES GREATER FUTURETHE COMMERCIAL property market in Berlin remains healthy despite the challenging economic environment, thanks to smaller companies and investors continuing to make decisions, according to a leading commercial agent in the city.
Ali Murat Asefoglu, head of investment at Engel & Volkers Commercial in Berlin, said that while activity from big corporates and major investors had diminished, organisations that are able to act more autonomously are continuing to transact.
“The small firms are taking decisions on their own,” he said. “They don’t have any big organisations and corporates behind them monitoring the market and delaying decisions. That is the case on the leasing side as well on the investment side, which has
been great for us. Small- and midcap transactions are the ones that are functioning right now.”
He added: “There are company owners, such as small investment managers and even small- and mid-cap developers, that are taking land plots without building rights at their own risk to build residential in particular, because we’re pretty short on the residential side. That’s what is keeping us busy in terms of market activity.”
The downturn in the German commercial property market, as elsewhere, has been driven by soaring inflation, largely as a result of increased energy costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and central banks’ subsequent decision to hike interest rates. The upshot has been a price correction across
most geographies and markets. However, Asefoglu said that he expected values to stabilise later this year. “I would say that the price adjustments have already been completed — I certainly don’t think we’re far away from that,” he said, although he noted that it is possible pricing could diminish by a further 5%.
The market, Asefoglu added, remains volatile, but there is light at the end of the tunnel: “Inflation is triggering everything right now, so we need to monitor that for March, April and May. But we’re expecting it to come down. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank give us the impression that they will decrease interest rates, but it will happen as soon as inflation rates come down.”
RENTAL housing investment, development and management company Greystar Real Estate has created a joint venture with Spanish residential property developer Via Celere to acquire a build-torent portfolio of 2,425 housing units in Spain.
The deal comprises 12 projects located in Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao. Via Celere will retain a minority stake of 45% of the portfolio, which will be marketed and operated under the new brand Be Casa Essential, owned by Greystar. Be Casa Essential is a spin-off of Greystar’s Be Casa brand, which already operates a portfolio of 2,500 flexible-living apartments in Spain. The investment is being made on behalf of GEPE I, Greystar’s pan-European discretionary fund, and will allow the company to
gain a diversified multifamily portfolio, increasing its exposure to the residential segment.
The build-to rent-portfolio is one of the largest in Spain. All the developments are located in high-de-
mand areas in the country’s main cities and include a range of home types, from one- to three-bedroom homes to penthouses, along with gardens and common areas offering amenities such as gyms,
communal pools and social clubs. Some 88% of the units are already under construction, with the remaining 12% expected to start construction before year end. Delivery dates range from 2023 to 2025.
Juan Manuel Acosta, Greystar’s managing director of investments in Spain, said: “This transaction is another example of our firm’s expertise in evaluating and structuring deals that align with our investment objectives, while also meeting the needs of our partners and clients. By tailoring our investment approach to the specific needs of each opportunity, we are able to structure deals that have the potential to generate superior returns for our investors.”
Jose Ignacio Morales Plaza, CEO of Via Celere, said: “This agreement is a milestone in the real estate sector in Spain and a step forward in the development and management of build-to-rent in the country.”
SLUISHUIS is a zero-energy residential building of 39,350 sqm located on the IJ-lake in Amsterdam. Co-developed by BESIX RED and strong local partner VORM, and designed by the Danish Architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with the Dutch BARCODE Architects, SLUISHUIS provides the IJburg district with a new architectural dimension.
Conceived with a fully integrated water program, the project offers Amsterdam a new living experience. Completely built on water, the cantilever construction (2 x 50 meter in length on each side) features 442 energy-
neutral apartments, a two-story underground carpark below water-level, houseboat lots, berths for pleasure crafts, catering facilities, as well as commercial areas. A wide range of services is also available, contributing to the users’ wellbeing.
SLUISHUIS is also a reference project in terms of sustainability. The building offers energyneutral apartments and integrates solutions adapted to tomorrow’s new ways of living, including the use of sustainable materials, geothermal energy, rainwater recycling, solar panels, heat recovery of water and used air.
The solid engineering and maritime experience of BESIX Group was a great enabler to overcome technical challenges and conceive this remarkable architectural design:
- Building on water on piles up to 60 meter deep
- The cantilever construction spans 50 meter in length on each side
- Two stories underground car park below sea level
From all angles, the building seems to incline towards a different side, which translates
“Our Sluishuis is conceived as a city block of downtown Amsterdam floating in the IJ Lake, complete with all aspects of city life. A building inside the port, with a port inside the building.” Bjarke Ingels, Architect, Founding Partner BIG
into exceptional residential units offering a panoramic view of the water and its surroundings.
The architectural design of this development includes one increased angle that creates a large gateway - as if opening sluice gatesfrom the IJ-lake towards the inner harbor of the project. On the side of the embankment, a wide staircase in between the greenery of the apartment terraces, gradually rises towards the rooftop and offers passers-by a public walkway.
The sustainability of SLUISHUIS is an integral part of the project. With an energy performance coefficient (EPC) of 0.00, the building generates more energy than it consumes. The building’s heating
requirements are minimized by combining high-performance insulation techniques, triple glazing, and heat recovery on the ventilation systems and wastewater.
Energy consumption is further reduced by a heat and cold storage (CHS) system in the ground for heat and cooling in combination with a connection to the district heating system for peak times. The remaining energy consumption for heating, heat pumps, ventilation, and LED lighting is fully compensated by approximately 2,200 m² of solar panels, to which an entire floating island adjacent to the project is dedicated.
The development team of SLUISHUIS paid particular attention to green space and water collection. The front sides and the inner harbor of the building feature gardens with local plant species. The greenery runs across
the roof terraces up into integrated planters, creating a pleasant green atmosphere.
Bouwinvest, specialised in managing real estate portfolios for institutional investors, believed in the project from the start, and bought a major part of it (around 70%). The investor is renting out the apartments in the mid-rental segment. The rest of the project (73 units) was sold to individual buyers.
Christian Schouten, Head of Dutch Transaction Management: “Sluishuis is a huge success. That’s down to the affordable homes we can now offer in this sustainable and high-quality complex. That’s a win-win for the city of Amsterdam and our pension fund clients, but especially for home seekers.”
Maricá has an exuberant nature, with beaches, mountains, forests and waterfalls. But for those who come here, as visitor or investor, nature is not all that make an impression.
The city has also become an international reference in public policies, with free transportation and income distribution programs.
Development with sustainability makes Maricá a city with one of the best human development indexes in the region.
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
THE TRANSACTIONAL
pipeline for European data rooms remains strong as the sector continues to perform well despite macro-economic uncertainty, according to Alexandre Grellier, CEO of Munich-based data room specialist Drooms.
However, he warned that higher interest rates and economic uncertainty meant that client due diligence over transactions had become more in-depth. As a result deals could be “cumbersome” as companies sought to ensure that they were buying assets with good liquidity and that met current and upcoming ESG requirements.
“Obviously we anticipate that many clients will feel cautious at the moment but the good news is that transactional preparation volumes are still strong, which means the fundamentals are ro -
bust. Data rooms tend to perform outside the broader real estate market, so they typically do well as an asset class whether we are in an up or down cycle,” Grellier said.
The company, which also has offices in London, is at MIPIM to speak to clients in what Grellier described as one of the pivotal dates in the annual calendar. Drooms will also be showcasing the company’s new lifestyle platform. This enables customers to place all their documents in one location and share them easily and “in a seamless way” with third parties.
Given the more onerous due diligence requirements and incoming ESG regulations, Grellier said that the ability to share documentation had become increasingly vital for businesses.
URBAN real estate investment manager Redevco has said its retail warehouse park asset management platform has become one of the largest in Europe and provides a great opportunity to improve sustainabil-
ity for its business. It plans to expand its renewable energy production through solar panels to supply tenants, electric vehicle charging hubs and local power grids.
By the end of last year it had already
installed 32,000 photovoltaic panels at its Belgian retail warehouse parks as part of its ‘Project Solar’ initiative which is forecast to contribute around 25% of the CO2 reduction abatement needed for the assets under management to move towards net zero carbon by 2040.
Herman Jan Faber, head of business development at Redevco, said the sustainability opportunity was combined with general positivity in the sector. He added that the creation of its retail warehouse park asset management platform, “coincides with what appears to be a bounce-back in retail real estate values after years of pressure from ecommerce competition and more recently the COVID pandemic”.
The 180 assets in the portfolio are distributed across Germany (60%), Belgium (38%) and France (2%).
ST MODWEN Logistics has pressed ahead with an active expansion drive since being acquired by Blackstone, adding two warehouse sites in England totalling over 50,000 sq m.
The two new warehouses, in Burton upon Trent and Coventry, both in the Midlands region, follow similar deals around England with the firm acquiring over 90,000 sq m of new assets in the past six months.
The Burton upon Trent deal sees St Modwen take ownership of a 35,400 sq m warehouse unit on the Centrum West Logistics Park. The unit currently serves as the UK headquarters for freight company Palletline. The firm has also bought up another unit occupied by Palletline, a distribution site with office space near Middlemarch in the West Midlands, outside the city of Coventry. The 16,800 sq m unit is located close to Coventry Airport, and major motorways.
St Modwen Logistics senior investment manager Oliver Smith said: “These facilities in Coventry and Burton upon Trent present a rare opportunity to acquire prime warehouse units in the logistics ‘golden triangle’ and are part of the wider vital national infrastructure that are fundamental to supply chains.”
AXA IM Alts acquires €420m residential portfolio in Japan
IM Alts has acquired a 33-asset multi-family portfolio in Japan for €420m. Strategically located across the high-density cities of Tokyo, Greater Osaka and Nagoya, the portfolio was acquired, on behalf of AXA IM Alts’ clients, from institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Global Alternatives Real Estate Asia-Pacific.
The portfolio is made up of high-quality, modern residential buildings, comprising predominantly one-bed apartments. A DBJ Green Building Certification has been awarded to 14 of the assets.
Laurent Jacquemin, head of Asia-Pacific real estate at AXA IM Alts, said: “This transaction further extends our residential footprint in three of Japan’s most densely populated cities, where demand for high quality rental accommodation exceeds current supply.
“All the properties in the portfolio have a strong track record of high occupancy. Our decision to further scale our Japanese residential portfolio is testament to the market’s dynamism.”
The transaction marks AXA IM Alts’ first acquisition in Japan this year, and forms part of its long-term global strategy to invest into residential asset classes which it believes are supported by strong demographic drivers. AXA IM Alts’ Japanese residential exposure currently stands at around 7,800 units and represents a growing proportion of its €25bn of total residential assets under management globally.
BRITISH LAND COMMITS TO €28M SOCIAL IMPACT FUND
popular and well-connected submarkets. The three cities have also recorded continuous population inflow despite Japan’s shrinking population at a national level.
Andrzej Mikołajczyk, managing director at CA Immo in Poland, said: “Our good leasing result for 2022 shows that centrally located properties offering high-quality, sustainable office space, managed by a proven, trustworthy and reputable partner continue to be
attractive for tenants. “Through the ongoing modernisation of our buildings and the invitation to our tenants to participate in our ESG initiative for environmentally and climate-friendly building operation, we are successfully building long-term relationships with our clients.”
CA Immo has eight high-end office properties in its Polish portfolio located mainly in Warsaw’s Central Business District, but also in Wola, Mokotow and Ochota. Among the company’s biggest leasing deals in the past year was the leasing of almost half of the Warsaw Spire C building.
CA Immo’s Postepu 14 office in Warsaw
The fund focuses on the areas of education, employment and affordable space and will comprise at least £15m of cash contributions and £10m worth of affordable space by 2030. Anna Devlet, head of social sustainability at British Land, said: “Our places thrive when local people and organisations prosper, meaning our enhanced social impact commitments are not just the right thing to do but also make good commercial sense. By collaboratively addressing local priorities through a place-based approach, we are confident in our ability to make tangible, meaningful impact and grow social value and wellbeing in the communities in which we operate, all while curating places that people truly prefer.”
Spannende Events mit Netzwerkcharakter
• imFokus: Die multimedialen imFokus-Kommunikationsprojekte beleuchten Themen der Immobilienwirtschaft und geben Ihnen die Möglichkeit, sich mit Gleichgesinnten auszutauschen.
• imAward: Jährlich wird den Besten der Branche der renommierte imAward verliehen. Seien Sie dabei – als Bewerber, Partner oder Gast auf dem exklusiven Gala-Abend!
Spannender Podcast
• Im immobilienmanager Podcast unterhalten sich Experten und Dienstleister aus und für die Immobilienbranche zu aktuellen Themen und Lösungen. Hören Sie doch mal rein!
Mehr Infos unter
www.immobilienmanager.de
GERMANY’s capital Berlin remains an attractive destination for international residential investors, according to Skjerven Group, but there are challenges to entry that make local knowledge a must.
Einar Skjerven, managing director of Skjerven Group, said: “The sheer size and stability of the rental market, the steady growth of the city and insufficient new construction compared to demand make for investment opportunities that are unique in Europe.” However, this does not mean that international buyers are welcome everywhere in the city. In some inner-city areas, “reservations about international investors have grown noticeably,” added Skjerven. “There are city councillors who advocate a significant expansion of the municipal housing sector at the expense of private-sector players.”
In terms of key market dynamics,
Skjerven said the number of completed flats in Berlin fell by just under 3% to 15,870 units in 2021. A political target of 20,000 new flats per year is expected to be significantly missed again in 2022. “This leads to a significant housing shortage with a potential for rent increases that is considerable in some cases,” Skjerven said.
A sharp rise in interest rates is also having an impact, with the purchase prices for residential buildings in Berlin coming under heavy pressure. Combined with current low existing rents this suggests ideal entry conditions for equity-strong buyers. However, this is tempered by the fact there are few potential sellers at the moment. “You need a certain network to be able to discover and lift the treasures,” said Skjerven, who has been active in Berlin since 2006 and has realised transactions of €1.85bn.
Valor Real Estate Partners has completed a €54m debt facility with Nuveen Real Estate. The five-year arrangement is the first transaction between the two parties and will support repositioning activity across three Berlin-based logistics assets.
The three urban, infill logistics properties are all located in sub-markets of Berlin, a market characterised by an acute shortage of high-spec distribution space. They include an 18,239 sq m distribution warehouse redevelopment in Buchholzer Strasse, Berlin Pankow and an 18,881 sq m property 12 km northeast of Berlin city centre which will become a modern warehouse. The third asset, located on the Neuenhagen Business Park, is a low-density site with two crossdock units.
Matthew Phillips, partner and head of finance & operations at Valor, said: “This first transaction with Nuveen adds another blue-chip institution to our select pool of lending partners. With €3bn of dry powder to deploy we are looking forward to expanding our footprint in Germany and across Europe.”
Peter Hansell, senior director, real estate debt strategies, Europe, at Nuveen, added: “The loan is the first investment for Nuveen’s fourth European debt strategy and represented an excellent opportunity to make an investment secured on European last-mile assets working with an experienced partner.”
CONSTRUCTION is expected to start on the transformation of Brussels’ Proximus Towers in Q3, 2024, with completion scheduled for early 2027. Developed by Immobel and designed by Jaspers-Eyers Architects and Neutelings
Riedijk Architects, the 120,000 sq m project will turn the single-use complex into a mixeduse ensemble with multiple functionalities. One tower will be office space, while the other half of the development will accommodate 300 residential units and 93 student rooms. Facilities including sports areas, an auditorium and landscaped green roof terraces will complement the project. The ground floor will include food outlets, shops and other amenities open to neighbourhood residents. About one hectare of green space will be added and the existing physical barrier between the building and public space will disappear to improve the environment.
A HYBRID planning consent has been granted for the development of around 2m sq ft (185,806 sq m) of new industrial, warehouse and logistics accommodation in Avonmouth, Bristol, in the south west of England.
Vancouver-based real estate development and investment firm Epta Development Corporation (EDC) purchased the site in De -
cember 2020 and appointed Stoford as development partner.
The scheme will be known as Axis Works and has the capacity to deliver large units on a built-to-suit basis. The masterplan includes a circa 93,000 sq m building and three other units ranging in size from 26,000 sq m to 33,000 sq m. Stoford is targeting BREEAM ‘excellent’, an EPC ‘A’ rating and net
carbon zero in construction.
The site has already been cleared of the former AstraZeneca works and Stoford is now preparing to start infrastructure works. It anticipates being able to commence construction of build-to-suit facilities in Q1, 2024.
Chris Tsakumis, principal at EDC, said: “Since our acquisition in late 2020, we have worked closely with our team of UK consultants to envisage a masterplan that will meet the demands of modern occupiers with a programme of development focused on sustainability, flexibility and innovation.”
Dan Gallagher, joint managing director at Stoford, added: “We’ve worked in close partnership with EDC over many months to secure planning consent for this hugely exciting scheme. Axis Works has the potential to become a world-class logistics and distribution park.”
LONDON-based Schroders Capital’s real estate team has completed five new office lettings at Battersea Studios in southwest London totalling 6,378 sq ft (592.5 sq m) on behalf of the Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund (SCREF).
The new tenants comprise Seer Medical, Vision Health, We Love Hue, Fiona Fleur and Sly Dog Rum, which have signed a mixture of short- to medium-term leases across two of the asset’s buildings.
In 2019, Battersea Studios was awarded the first Fitwel for Workplace: Multi-Tenant Whole Building certification in Europe. The rating recognises a building’s efforts to promote user health and wellbeing as well as its proximity to amenities and green spaces.
Rob Cosslett, fund manager at
Schroders Capital, said: “Our team continues to demonstrate the success of the hospitality mindset applied to active asset management adopted across the SCREF portfolio. This approach has helped to ensure that the asset remains a thriving office scheme in Battersea.” He added: “Battersea Studios
continues to be an attractive destination for both new and existing businesses and we are delighted to welcome these five new companies to our estate. Our team will continue to work closely with our occupiers to ensure that the asset is best positioned to attract more exciting new businesses.”
A 50,000 sq m mixeduse development known as The Wings will be completed by the end of the year, Belgian developer Ghelamco Group has announced. Designed by ASSAR Architects, The Wings is under construction in Diegem, Belgium and comprises four building wings that come together in a four-level glass-enclosed atrium. The project will provide office and hospitality facilities, as well as 4,000 sq m of amenities, including a food court and communal spaces. Located near Brussels Airport, it will house the headquarters of EY Belgium, a 250-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel and a large MeetDistrict co-working space. It will include landscaped garden terraces equipped with rest areas, as well as rooftops equipped with solar panels.
Ghelamco said that the building will generate the energy needed for “all in-house business and amenities, without consuming any fossil fuels whatsoever”.
HAMBURG-based developer
ECE is to plan and develop a new hotel project in the centre of Rome, to be operated by the Ruby Hotels chain.
The project is the first for ECE Work & Live outside the German and Austrian markets and forms part of its international strategy to develop the asset class to other European markets both for newbuild schemes and the conversion of existing properties.
The plans for Rome include the conversion of a listed property from the early 19th century, which was used as an office building until recently, into a Ruby Hotel with around 165 rooms.
The property is centrally located on Via Nazionale in the centre of Rome and initial demolition work for the project has already begun. Construction is scheduled to start in the autumn of
2023, with opening scheduled for spring 2025. The investment volume is around €60m.
The project is ECE Work & Live’s first hotel development in Italy and also the first joint project with hotel group Ruby Hotels. ECE owner the Otto family holds a 25% stake in the Ruby Group, which has hotels across Europe including upcoming openings in London, Dublin, Florence and Stuttgart.
“Our first hotel project in Italy combines the main objectives of our strategy in the hotel segment, to expand our international activities and extend them to attractive markets such as Italy, to increase investments in the conversion of existing properties and to focus on hotels with a leisure and business competence,” said Torsten Kuttig, hotel development director, ECE Work & Live.
MANY property investors and asset managers are still struggling with the digital transformation of their businesses, according to UK-based European real estate management consultancy Remit Consulting.
“While the digital transformation of the real estate industry has been ongoing for decades, the nature of these transformations has changed and there is a common misconception that it is an all-or-nothing package and a complete overhaul of a business,” Remit Consulting partner, Andrew Waller, said.
“Digital transformation is not about starting a monster programme of business change, it’s about understanding how your business works now, where it can be improved and what is available to maximise the benefits of
A FOUR-year £258m (€292m) development loan has been secured to fund a 462-home prime residential-led scheme in Kensington, West London.
changes,” he added.
Waller said that from the company’s studies and conversations with members of its property asset managers forum, the real estate industry is struggling to understand the scope of what digital transformations can involve.
He believes that a lack of proper planning and project management often leads to failed digital transformations and aid that Remit regularly see businesses taking a “let’s just buy a system we know” attitude which is often not suitable.
“Without considering data, technology, process and strategy as part of business growth, property companies will miss out on a competitive edge, which could ultimately push them out of the market,” he said.
Real estate finance provider Maslow Capital has completed on the facility to support the development at 100 West Cromwell Road, a joint venture between UK developer Seven Capital and pan-European real estate investment manager Mark. Ardmore Construction has been appointed as the main contractor. The seven blocks will offer studios; one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments; duplex apartments; and three- and fourbedroom houses. It will also include over 1,115 sq m of commercial space and 2,285 sq m of community and leisure facilities and the project is expected to start on site in summer 2022, delivered in phases over four years.
Suivez-nous
Il n’en finit plus de séduire petites comme grandes entreprises. Promettant flexibilité, services et attractivité, le bureau opéré a indéniablement su rebondir après la crise et les acteurs de ce marché se montrent confiants en l’avenir. Mais peut-il réellement s’imposer durablement sur le marché de l’immobilier tertiaire ? Analyse et décryptage à lire dans ce numéro spécial.
workplacemagazine.fr
A l’occasion du MIPIM, Workplace Magazine vous offre ce numéro. Scannez le QR code et lisez-le en ligne !
HIH INVEST Real Estate has acquired a new office property located on Justus-von-Liebig-Strasse 28 in Bonn in an off-market transaction. The property was sold by a joint venture between property developer Ten Brinke and BLI Invest. The acquisition was on behalf of institutional investors.
The five-storey stand-alone building, which has two basement levels and a landscaped rooftop patio, occupies a plot of about 5,000 sq m and provides more than 12,300 sq m of lettable space.
The total breaks down into about 10,400 sq m of office space and 1,900 sq m of archives, storage space and plant rooms.
In addition, the scheme includes 153 car parking spaces and 155 bicycle spaces in the underground car park. The building is DGNB Gold certified and meets the KfW-55 sustainability standard. The building has been leased by a
public authority for 15 years with two options to renew the lease for another five years.
HIH Invest said that the floor can be divided up to house multiple companies or remain open plan. “This degree of flexibility in combination with a high space efficiency and the high-end fit-out features makes the building perfectly suitable for alternative types of use, including multi-tenant occupancy,” it said in a statement. The building represents the first
stage of a new government building campus in Bonn-Dransdorf, with another three office buildings planned for the campus. According to HIH Invest, the site has optimal transport links to the inner cities of both Bonn and Cologne via the A555 and A565 expressways, several rapid transit stations and bus stops. Cologne/Bonn Airport is a 25- minute drive away. A large number of shopping centres are located in the immediate vicinity of the campus, it added.
GREENMAN Open, one of the largest food-anchored retail real estate investment funds focused on Germany, has acquired three standalone Edeka markets.
The properties are located in Weyhe in Lower Saxony, Taucha in Saxony and Freyburg in Saxony-Anhalt and have a total area of approximately 18,500 sq m.
The cash-and-carry market in Weyhe was acquired as part of an off-market 20-year sale and leaseback deal directly with Edeka.
The other two properties are new developments and are let to Edeka on 15-year leases. They form part of an agreement that Greenman Open signed with developer Schröder Holding in 2021. Both assets will be handed over following completion in September and November this year.
James McEvoy, head of acquisitions at Greenman Open, said: “These properties are an excellent addition to the ever-growing Greenman Open portfolio as they will provide long-term essential income to Open while also supporting our net-zero approach for
the fund. “This is our fifth successful sale and leaseback deal with one of Germany’s largest food retailers, he said. “It reaffirms our long-standing partnership with Edeka and we look forward to expanding on it in the future.”
TAKE-up in Germany’s life sciences and technology sectors has increased on average by 16% a year since 2018, according to a white paper published jointly by Colliers and the European Science Park Group AG (ESPG). The paper, ‘Life Science & Tec Real Estate - Defining asset class. Identifying potential’, says that an average of 209,000 sq m have been taken up each year over the past five years, totalling over 1m sq m.
It also identifies that take-up has been accelerating in recent years. Take up in 2022 came in at 302,000 sq m, an increase of approximately 70 % compared to 2018. Only around 43 % of leases signed over the period involved existing properties, which the paper suggests shows that “life sciences and technology real estate involves specific requirements that can be best addressed with new-build space”. It adds: “According to the latest data, only about 330,000 sq m is scheduled for completion by 2025, which, combined with growing demand, could result in a severe shortage of supply.”
Professor Jeremy Rifkin will address the importance of innovation in the transformation of the built environment towards a more sustainable model. Best known for his influential work on the third industrial revolution, for which he is an advisor to the European Union, he will discuss the effects of scientific and technological advancements on the economy, society and the environment.
Tuesday 14 March at 3:00 pm
Grand Auditorium
Carlton Stage The RE-Invest Summit
Platinum sponsor
Carlton Stage RE-Invest Thought Leaders’ Lunch
Platinum sponsor
Gold sponsors Gold sponsors
Breakfast sponsor Industry partner Industry partner
11.00 - 11.30
Keynote: Christophe BéchuFrench Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion
10.00 - 10.50
Invest City Focus: How are UK Cities equipping the enormous potential of People, Culture, Places and Spaces?
10.00 - 10.45
Investment opportunities in London’s life sciences sector
10.50 - 11.05
City and growth: Opportunities for investment and partnerships
11.00 - 11.45
Financing London’s decarbonisation
10.00 - 11.00
Paris Region Sustainable, Always Attractive!
11.30 - 12.00
EG Spotlight: Diversity & Inclusion
12.00 - 12.20
Keynote – What is the money doing?
11.00 - 11.30
Attractivity of Real Estate in Paris Region
11.30 - 12.00
The Grand Paris Metropolitan Area, Planning, building and innovating in the City of the Future
12.00 - 12.30
The opportunities of Metropolitan Development Operations
12.30 - 13.00
Metropolitan Innovation Districts: Urban InnovationExperiments to build cities
Hôtel
1. Only MIPIM team can issue invitations to this event | Sessions with a frame are the outstanding sessions
PARTNER STAGE Salon Croisette (P3)
14.00 - 15.00
Global Danish Solutions - How do we contribute to the green transition worldwide?
Organised by
From 19.30
Hotel Martinez Cannes Opening Reception
Sponsored by
PARTNER STAGE Verrière Californie (P5)
GEO FOCUS STAGE Foyer Balcon Debussy (P3)
SPECIAL EVENT open to all
LONDON STAND STAGE C14
17.00 - 19.00
Beach Club - Carlton Hotel MIPIM Innovation Party
Sponsored by
EG PAVILION C20
GRAND PARIS PAVILION Eiffel Stage C12
SPECIAL EVENT by registration only
GRAND PARIS PAVILION La Défense Stage C12
14.00 - 15.00
The New Urban Regeneration Authorities
Organised by
16.00 - 17.00
Planning with Purpose for future generations in KSA
Organised by
16.00 - 17.30
Table ronde des partenaires Conference in French without translation
Organised by
17.45 - 19.45
Poland: Opportunities for International Investors. Latest trends, prospects & challenges
Organised by in partnership with
The Poland Observer
14.00 - 14.45 Future of the capital’s industrial and logistics market
Germany: Challenges, Opportunities, Strategies
16.15 - 17.15
International cooperation for sustainable buildings: a strong driver for an emerging market
Organised by
14.00 - 14.45 Driving infrastructure investment
14.00 - 14.45
Learning from global cities
15.00 - 15.45
Sponsored by
16.15 - 17.00
EG Interview: Residential and social value for communities
14.00 - 14.30
CEEVO & GRAND PARIS
SUD : Opportunities for the development of a Health & Wellness sector in Grand Paris
14.30 - 15.00
The transfor-mation of north-east Paris
15.00 - 15.30
Invest in Europe, invest in the New World
15.30 - 16.00
Regeneration, Real Estate and Rebranding
16.00 - 16.45
Paris Region: New territorial dynamics, New real estate dynamics, New investment opportunities!
16.45 - 20.30
Speech and cocktail of Grand Paris
17.00 - 19.00
London Opening Reception
Sponsored by
Sessions with the mention “organised by” are not official conferences organised by MIPIM. Sessions in blue are Geo Focus sessions
15.30 - 16.00
Paris la défense: Projects & Perspectives
THE SUSTAINABLE transformation of the real estate industry is set to take top billing at MIPIM, according to Christopher Mertlitz, head of European investments at investor W.P. Carey. “Climate is a topic that’s increasingly being discussed, particularly given the current energy crisis. The real estate industry has a key role to play given it is responsible for almost 40% of global CO 2 emissions,” he said.
“We are greatly looking forward to this year’s conference in Cannes. The real estate sector is fundamentally a people’s business and that is especially true in times of volatility and disruption. MIPIM provides a can’tmiss opportunity for the industry to come together and discuss key issues, such as how the real
estate market will evolve within the context of a higher interest rate environment as well as other topics such as the way in which the industry can drive ESG transformation,” Mertlitz added. Mertlitz said that W.P. Carey was principally “sector agnostic” with a focus on “mission-critical” assets. “In particular we see attractive opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, food production, grocery and DIY retail. These sectors have demonstrated impressive resilience and benefit from long-term secular trends,” he said. “We remain positive about the logistics and manufacturing sectors given the tremendous growth they have experienced in recent years due to e-commerce, as well as their key role in supply
chains and the ongoing trend towards near-shoring.”
Despite the uncertain macroeconomic climate, Mertlitz said he was confident about doing deals.
“We anticipate central banks will continue raising interest rates in an effort to further tame inflation. However, we expect these hikes to be more incremental than those undertaken last year in 2022. Largely, it seems the market has transitioned to accommodate price adjustments related to rising rates, which is a positive sign as we kick off 2023,” he said.
“The challenging rate environment also favours all-equity buyers such as W. P. Carey and will likely serve as a catalyst for more companies to pursue a sale-leaseback in order to unlock capital.”
DEMAND for warehouse and logistics facilities continues to expand despite the challenging market, according to Christopher Garbe, managing partner of Garbe Industrial Real Estate. “We expect to keep seeing a keen demand for warehouse and logistics facilities this year, and are confident of our ability to keep raising rent levels. As a robust asset class, logistics real estate has managed to stand its ground,” Garbe said. The firm has also continued to pursue its ESG commitments, developing one of the most environmentally friendly logistics parks in Europe — Garbe Green Park Piešťany in Slovakia. “We generally equip all of our developments with photovoltaic (PV) systems, while having made it standard practice to replace radiant tube heating units with state-
of-the-art heat pumps,” he said.
The firm installed PV systems with a combined output of 25 megawatt peak (MWp) on a total of 220,000 sq m of roof sur -
faces in 2022. And underlining its eco-mission, it set up Garbe Infrastructure, a spin-off handling the various activities in the infrastructure and renewable
energies segments. Meanwhile, Garbe’s pan-European expansion has continued, bringing the firm’s presence to 16 offices in 11 countries.
He said: “In Italy, we managed to acquire €230m worth of properties in development and investment categories over the past 18 months. Similarly, we are in the process of developing five projects with around 146,000 sq m of logistics space in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”
Jan Philipp Daun, managing director and head of investment management, added: “We assume that the investment sector will start regaining significant momentum by the end of the second quarter of 2023. The logistics market continues to benefit from its resilience, because rental growth makes up for the softened price-to-rent ratios and thereby safeguards and optimises the current cash flow.”
FATTAL Hotel Group, a hospitality specialist focusing on Europe, the UK and Israel, has acquired the historic Grand Hotel in Brighton. First opened in 1864, the seven-floor Grand Brighton is situated on the seafront and has 201 rooms, including sea-facing balcony bedrooms and luxury suites. It also offers a restaurant, bar, and meeting and banqueting space. David Fattal, CEO and owner of Fattal said: “We are delighted to follow up our acquisition of The Dilly hotel in London by adding The Grand Brighton to our group, another addition to our growing portfolio of luxury hotels.
“We believe our locations, our strategy and the proven capabilities of our people put our group in a unique position to leverage and capitalise on the emerging opportunities we see
across the UK hotel sector.
“Our vision is to create one of Europe’s best performing hotel groups, where we nurture our talent to be the best, and create exceptional customer experiences.”
The deals for The Dilly and the Grand were executed through Fattal’s €400m fund, raised in partnership with institutional investors. In July, it also acquired six landmark hotels in Spain for over €165m and recently announced the acquisition of nine hotels in Austria in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz.
The group’s collection of hotels in the south of England includes: Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront; The Dilly in Central London; Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour; Leonardo Royal Hotels at London City, Tower Bridge and St Paul’s
PRIVATELY-owned UK property developer and asset manager Candour has acquired an office and retail property in Manchester with a view to building a state-of-the-art office development.
London; NYX Hotel London Holborn; and Leonardo Hotels in Plymouth, Exeter, Brighton and Southampton.
In recent years the Grand has benefitted from significant investment, including a major renovation project, completed in 2019.
LOGISTICS specialist P3 Logistics Parks has purchased the Wroclaw Campus project in southwest Poland from developer Panattoni. The project covers some 185,000 sq m and is certified BREEAM
Excellent. Tenants include ID Logistics, Korean logistics operator Unico Logistics, GEIS, LX Pantos and automotive cable manufacturer Leoni.
Robert Dobrzycki, CEO &
co-owner Panattoni Europe, UK and India, said: “Panattoni is the largest deployer of institutional capital in industrial and logistics assets in Europe. The sale of our Wroclaw logistics park to P3 demonstrates the sustained strong institutional investor appetite for industrial and logistics real estate. In Poland, new development supply continues to lag in meeting the need for space from industrial and ecommerce companies and the growing nearshoring trend.” Wrocław Campus is part of an established logistics zone in CEE comprising more than 350 logistics parks covering 20 million sq m. It encompasses Szczecin in the north of Poland as well parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary in the south.
The eight-storey building is a 1960s mixed-use retail and office property totalling 41,000 sq ft (3,800 sq m). Candour will redevelop 39 Deansgate into a mixed-use, workspace-led scheme of 200,000 sq ft over 17 storeys.
Toby Pentecost, co-founder at Candour, said: ‘39 Deansgate is a 100% prime development site within Manchester’s city core market. With a planning consent in place, we can deliver a new bestin-class Grade A office development. Candour will be working with the incumbent design team and with Manchester City Council, to deliver a series of optimisations to the consent to ensure that the building is the most efficient and sustainable use of this gateway site.”
- Piotr Uściński, Secretary of State, Ministry of Development and Technology
Tuesday 14 March from 17.45 - 19.45 Salon Croisette, Palais des Festivals, Cannes
• ESG - how is it impacting the investment landscape?
• What makes Poland a resilient market?
• Urban revitalization schemes - a new asset class of its own?
• Community placemaking - a must for every scheme?
• Stand alone offices - still viable, or is mixed-use king?
• Logistics - how long the star among asset-classes?
• PRS in Poland - how deep is the potential?
• Construction costs, inflation & geopolitical uncertainty - how are they affecting business?
- Michał Olszewski, Deputy Mayor, The City of Warsaw
- Marcin Graczyk, Head of Partnership & Communication, Polish Investment and Trade Agency
- Marek Matraszek, Chairman, CEC Group
- Kinga Nowakowska, Member of the Board & COO, Capital Park Group
- Maciej Dyjas, Managing Partner, Griffin Capital Partners
- Mateusz Rykała, Vice President, Katowice Special Economic Zone
- Michał Białas, Head of Business Development, 7R
- Witold Zatoński, Founder, Syrena Real Estate
- Richard Stephens, Journalist (host)
The Poland Conference & Cocktail at MIPIM 2023 Access to Salon Croisette by lift from the 1st floor, opposite the Grand Auditorium entrance.UNITED Benefits Holding has entered the Polish real estate market for the first time by acquiring the 16,000 sq m Silver Forum office building in Wroclaw.
The company said that it plans to optimise the property with a focus on ESG standards, thereby “leveraging the property’s value-add po -
tential”. It also plans to redesign the facade and restructure the interior to allow for more flexibility and multiple uses.
Michael Klement, CEO of United Benefits Holding, explained the company’s rationale for making the acquisition. “We are delighted to have acquired an attractive commer-
cial and office property in Wroclaw with the Silver Forum,” he said.
“Wroclaw is the third largest city in Poland, the country with the lowest recession rate in the EU. This is another factor that persuaded us to enter this market over the long term.
We want to take the overall quality of experience to a new level and reduce ongoing operating costs for tenants in the long term.”
Silver Forum was built in 2007 and covers an area of more than 9,000 sq m. It has around 16,000 sq m of usable space over seven storeys. In addition, the underground garage offers 165 parking spaces alongside 133 further spaces on the surrounding site. United Benefits Holding is aiming for full occupancy of the property as part of repositioning it on the market. There are also plans for certifications such as LEED and BREEAM ‘in use’.
BNP PARIBAS Real Estate Investment Management France has announced the off-plan acquisition of a residential building located at 26-34 avenue Pierre Curie in Saint-CyrL’Ecole on behalf of Danish investor PFA Pension.
The asset will have a total area of 2,800 sq m, will be developed by Pitch Immo and delivered during
Q4 2024. It will comprise 47 flats across three floors, with suites ranging from studios to five-bedroom apartments. A total of 61 parking spaces will be provided.
BNP Paribas REIM said that the building benefits from an “excellent location” in the city-centre of SaintCyr-L’Ecole, with “a great offer of services nearby”, including shops,
restaurants, banks, pharmacies and schools. The company added that the site also provides easy access to public transport.
In accordance with BNP Paribas REIM’s corporate social responsibility strategy, the asset is certified NF Habitat, which means it will be “exemplary in terms of quality of life, respect for the environment and economic performance”, the company said.
BNP Paribas REIM France acquired the asset on behalf of PFA Pension as part of a new mandate targeting residential in the main cities of France. Other acquisitions are already planned for 2023.
Guillaume Delattre, CIO of BNP Paribas REIM in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal, said: “We are very enthusiastic to launch this mandate through a premium asset and alongside a solid developer that produces high-quality buildings.”
BERLIN-based CR Investment Management has announced that it will focus on its core business on advising on non-performing real estate projects in 2023. It said that it would provide its services to clients in financial distress by negotiating with financiers and other project partners in order to find alternative use for properties and assists with possible disposals.
Torsten Hollstein, founding partner of CR Investment Management, said: “Over the past 10 years, the company managed €30bn worth of non-performing properties and real estate loans. We are now shifting our focus back to this line of business. After all, the number of non-performing debt instruments is growing in the current market cycle.”
Claudius Meyer, managing director at CR Investment Management, added: “There is a strong need for consultancy. We are negotiating mandates involving undertakings with a projected volume of circa €1bn.”
“Savoir aujourd’hui pour comprendre demain”
FRANKFURT-based European integrated facility management specialist Apleona is to merge with Berlin-headquartered facility management provider Gegenbauer Group. Gegenbauer Group employs 18,000 people and generates average sales of €900m annually, split equally between hard and soft services. Following the merger, Apleona will become an integrated real estate services firm with more than 40,000 employees across Europe, generating annual sales of around €3.5bn.
The company said that the transaction will strengthen Apleona’s position as an integrated facility management provider to industrial companies, financial institutions and institutional real estate investors, particularly in the field of soft services. As part of the transaction, the former shareholders of the Gegenbauer Group will become shareholders in Apleona, while European private equity firm PAI Partners will remain
Apleona’s majority shareholder. Meanwhile, the Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation has commissioned Apleona to provide hard services for several buildings in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The service agreement was signed as of January 1, 2023 for two years with the option of two extensions.
The Jewish Museum Berlin, one of Germany’s most frequented museums, on Lindenstrasse consists of the baroque Collegienhaus building (formerly the seat of the Royal Court
of Justice and later the home of the Berlin Museum) and a zigzag-shaped modern building designed by US architect Daniel Libeskind. Across the street from these two buildings is the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy, located on the site of a former wholesale flower market that was also remodeled based on a Libeskind design. The Academy is home to the archive, library, seminar and workshop rooms for museum education, and the ANOHA Children’s World, which opened in June 2021.
STABLE Income Europe Real Estate Fund – Macquarie II (SIEREF - Macquarie 2), jointly advised by Macquarie Asset Management and MAPFRE, has acquired an office building in Berlin from a fund managed by Ardian.
The eight-storey property spans approximately 13,000 sq m and is nearly fully leased according to Macquarie. Located in the central Wilmersdorf district, the building has been recently refurbished in 2020 to 2022. It features a modern entrance area, a recreation area and a newly created terrace space, accessible for all tenants.
Sustainability features include district heating, full LED lighting and green electricity throughout the property. The building has been awarded a Wired Gold and a Very Good BREEAM certification.
Christian Goebel, co-head of Mac-
quarie Asset Management’s core/ core-plus real estate strategy, said: “In recent years we have seen a significant shift in demographics, with increased urbanisation, digitisation and greater focus on sustainability. We are excited to add this high-quality office building to our portfolio, as we continue to invest in real estate that supports our changing world.”
Alfredo Muñoz, real estate general manager at MAPFRE, added: “We are very happy to be embarking on this new venture with Macquarie. In spite of uncertainty in the macro-economic context, MAPFRE remains focused on pursuing assets in primary markets of Europe’s capitals, targeting high-quality tenants to generate stable cash flows.”
METEOVIVA and Sauter-Cumulus are to support Hamburg’s carbon-neutral ambitions as the City of Hamburg’s sustainability partners. The two companies will equip the public buildings with MeteoViva’s smart-data solution and the corresponding building automation from Sauter-Cumulus. Energy consumption and CO2 emissions will be reduced significantly as a result, the companies said. By 2045, the city of Hamburg aims to reduce emissions by at least 98%to become carbon neutral and MeteoViva and the building automation manufacturer Sauter-Cumulus are now responsible for equipping all buildings identified by the city for energy efficiency measures over the next two years. This framework agreement could be extended for up to six years and includes 700 buildings managed by the city’s real estate company, Sprinkenhof. These include fire departments, university buildings, district offices and the Congress Centre Hamburg.
“Our climate protection technology has now more than proven itself in large real estate portfolios in the private sector,” MeteoViva managing director Uwe Grossmann said.
MACKLOWE Properties has completed One Wall Street, a premium apartment complex in Manhattan, representing New York’s largest ever office-to-residential conversion. The Art Deco skyscraper comprises 1 million sq ft of residential and 250,000 sq ft of commercial amenities, and is now open for occupancy.
Designed by architect Ralph Walker and developed by Macklowe Properties, the property houses 566 homes in all, served by the One Club amenities on the 38th and 39th floors, including the 75-foot, glass-enclosed Sky Pool with a wraparound terrace and private residential restaurant, bar and dining room.
“In the heart of the iconic financial district, One Wall Street, one of New York City’s most significant buildings, both in history and sheer size, has set the standard for residential conversions, marking yet another historic success. The
completion of One Wall Street embodies our vision for luxury living in Downtown Manhattan, representing everything special about the past and future of New York; architecture and design, complexity and intricacy, ingenuity and collaboration,” said Harry Macklowe, developer of One Wall Street.
“The goal was to incarnate empty spaces into thoughtfully redesigned residences that will stand the test of time. We are proud to fully unveil the completed building, now available for immediate move-ins, for the first time,” he added.
Recently opened to the public, One Wall Street’s retail space at the base of the building, including the Financial District’s largest grocer, Whole Foods, and a massive Life Time Fitness Resort, add to the amenities.
In addition, luxury French retailer Printemps will open their first US store in a 54,000-sq ft space, including the historic Red Room.
One Wall Street now comprises 566 premium homes
COMMERZ Real, the real assets subsidiary of Commerzbank, has announced that the wind farms and solar parks in its managed funds produced 15% more green electricity over the past year.
“Thanks to the ongoing demand on the part of our institutional and private investors, we have been able to continually expand our renewable energy portfolios. We are diversifying in terms of geography, technology, manufacturers and the marketing channels for the generated electricity,” said Yves-Maurice Radwan, head of green deal Infrastructure at Commerz Real.
INTERNATIONAL developer and asset manager for residential and retail property, Trei Real Estate, has completed its second residential development in the US. The finished apartments, called
Atlantic Beach House and located north of Charleston, South Carolina, provide 224 rental units with a combined residential area of about 19,400 sq m. The scheme represented an in -
vestment volume of €59.3m and is currently 65% occupied. In parallel, the company has kickedoff the construction of two apartment projects, one in Jacksonville, Florida, and the other in Cary, North Carolina, with a combined investment volume of €147m, which will deliver a total of 590 rental units by 2024. Trei completed its first residential project in the US in September 2021, a 359-unit rental property in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate, said: “The economic situation in the United States is defined by high inflation rates but also by fast-growing residential rent rates. The latter is having a favourable effect on our developments.”
Commerz Real also expects a further growth in electricity production, recently acquiring a shareholding in a French wind and solar portfolio, five solar parks in Sweden and five wind energy plants in Finland for its funds.
22 JUIN 2023 à partir de 18 h
INTERCONTINENTAL PARIS LE GRAND
JAPAN has pledged to achieve complete carbon neutrality by the year 2050. In order to bring about this green transformation (GX), the entire economic, social and industrial structure based on fossil fuels will be replaced with something more sustainable. In 2021 the government formulated the Green Growth Strategy, which identifies 14 growth sectors for innovation. Then in February 2022 it announced the GX League Basic Concept, a framework for companies with ambitious carbon reduction goals, which lays the groundwork towards implementing GX over the next 10 years.
“Much of this transformation will be carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) through the MLIT Green Challenge,” MLIT vice-minister, Toshiyuki Hayashi, said.
The Green Challenge is a medium-term climate policy that proactively promotes decarbonisation and other environmental measures, including the implementation of energy saving policies like Net Zero Energy Houses (ZEH) and Net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB), which mandate low-energy standards for the housing and construction sector. It also promotes the use of solar power in infrastructure projects such as roads and parks. Another approach being taken by MLIT is more effective urban planning to make sure that Japan’s cities remain sustainable even as their populations decline. “This policy is centred on the Compact Plus Network principle, which takes into consideration both the declining birth-rate and the overall aging of the population,” Hayashi said. “It encourages the creation of housing, together with urban functions, around train stations and other
neutrality is so important to Japan is that climate change engenders weather disasters that cause a great deal of damage.
“Given that we expect more frequent and severe water-related disasters due to climate change,” Hayashi said, “we must formulate both hard and soft countermeasures.” The former would include the construction of more levees, diversion channels, and storm sewers. The latter would involve proper distribution of emergency information related to weather disasters.
“Japan refers to these initiatives as Integrated Flood Management for River Basins,” Hayashi said. “Cities are encouraged to adopt flood management policies in co-ordination with stakeholders. One aspect of this idea is to restrict construction in high-risk areas and use hazard maps and other tools to increase resilience to floods in urban development projects.” The plan would also provide residents with more detailed disaster-related information, including evacuation routes.
hubs to promote the use of public transportation and to ensure the availability of urban services. All this, even as the population declines, while contributing towards achieving carbon neutrality.”
In addition, the Green Infrastructure initiative envisions a public-private partnership that will contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality through measures such as increasing the CO2 absorption capacity of cities, by making more buildings green and developing city parks that can collect and store rainwater. One of the reasons that carbon
These strategies require the co-operation of Japan’s construction industry. As Hayashi said, “infrastructure is permanent, thus necessitating decarbonisation efforts that take into consideration the whole life cycle of a facility, including planning, design, construction, renovation and removal; and that is in addition to the energy-saving schemes used to maintain the particular facility.” The idea is to promote the use of low CO2 materials and related technologies, while also incorporating the use of sustainable energy sources for the construction process itself. Facilities should utilise technology such as LED lighting, which use less energy. When facilities are torn down, the resulting refuse should be recyclable.
Since Japan is noted for its rapidly aging society, the MLIT also has to consider sustainability from the standpoint of popula -
“Our goals are to create a society where the elderly can live where they want and enjoy an active, independent lifestyle”
Toshiyuki Hayashi
tion shifts. “Our urban development goals are to create a society where the elderly can live where they want to and enjoy an active, independent lifestyle with the support of the community,” Hayashi said. “It is therefore critical to guarantee sufficient housing for the elderly, as well as a residential environment where everyone feels safe and secure.”
This strategy incorporates development focused on universal design and a “barrier-free” mindset so that all members of society can benefit from Japan’s high standard of living.
Japan welcomes foreign investment. “Japan has a highly transparent real estate market, even by international standards,” Hayashi said. “We believe international investors can participate with peace of mind.”
International investors comprised 25% of those who bought and sold
J-REITs. As before these instruments focus mainly on commercial properties, but at present they also cover logistics, residential properties, hotels, healthcare facilities, and others.
Lastly, the MLIT is focusing on so-called smart cities to realise many of its goals.
“Leveraging digital technology is key for Japan to achieve sustainable cities,” Hayashi said. “Much of that goes into public-private initiatives to develop smart cities.”
Digital technology can be used to plan evacuation routes in the case of flooding and survey solar power placement to find optimal locations.
“We are promoting lateral co-operation across many stakeholders, including other ministries and local governments,” Hayashi added. “We will also carry out advanced trials throughout Japan.”
DUBAI-based real estate development company Nakheel Properties is showcasing “several exciting projects” at MIPIM this year, according to Rasha Hasan, the firm’s chief commercial officer. “This includes our new brand purpose to ‘build happiness and prosperity’ as we focus on enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life for citizens,
residents and visitors of Dubai,” Hasan said. On top of that, Nakheel’s stand at MIPIM is out to inform and impress with details and models of some of its iconic master-plan projects. She added: “Dubai Islands will redefine the concept of waterfront living with five islands offering unique and innovative experiences.”
As ever, Cannes is an opportunity for the firm to meet old and new partners.
“We hope to share our purpose and our vision for Dubai with a wider international audience, highlighting our strength as a pioneer of waterfront developments and elevated living experiences. As one of the leading international real estate
market events, it’s a great opportunity for us to connect with international audiences,” Hasan said.
“It will also be an opportunity to meet with other leading industry experts, from architects and investors to developers and hotel groups, enabling us to identify potential synergies and future opportunities,” she added.
EUROPE’s real estate market is one of “contrasts, re-pricing, and resilience” according to Philip La Pierre, head of Europe, LaSalle Investment Management, who describes a marked difference between current real estate fundamentals and capital markets. “Acute inflation, and central bank tightening, is impacting these real estate value drivers in opposite ways,” La Pierre told MIPIM News.
“Price discovery is a key theme for 2023. Differences in opinion between buyers and sellers are constraining liquidity today, but also producing opportunities across real estate equity and debt.
“In contrast to some of the turbulence in capital markets, European real estate supply and
demand fundamentals remain largely sound and resilient. As spring approaches, Europe’s economy and real estate occupiers have demonstrated resilience to energy supply cut-offs and volatile prices.”
According to La Pierre, the demand to relocate, expand or upgrade space continues, driven by European occupiers “playing catch-up post-pandemic”. However, long-standing limitations on land use are constraining new real estate supply, helping to keep vacancy low and giving owners continued rental pricing power in sectors like logistics. “Real estate income is proving that it is able to work as an inflation hedge across many portfolios,” he added.
“As we look ahead, we see more divergence in outlook between assets of the same property type. Differences in assets in terms of market, physical quality, location, and the lifecycle will determine their future ability to attract and retain tenants. This trend is closely linked to the long-term theme of ESG transformation, which is not merely continuing but accelerating as a result of energy geopolitics and prices.” He said: “Decarbonising the value chain will remain incredibly relevant for Europe. There are opportunities to be had, especially for investors prepared to act when sufficient risk premiums materialise and who understand the nuances of local markets and sectors.”
THE TECHNOLOGY, media and telecoms (TMT) sector dominated activity in the European flexible office-space market in 2022, according to global real estate advisor CBRE.
TMT accounted for 52% of transactions in Europe by number of deals, and 62% by number of seats acquired. According to CBRE, demand has been partly driven by more dynamic changes in headcount within the sector. At the startup end of the sector, flex space remains attractive to those who want to preserve capital on their core business and, furthermore, need agility to navigate volatility in market conditions.
When looking at other sectors, financial and professional services followed at 21% by number of
deals and 27% by number of seats acquired. However, the sector remains focused on return-to-office strategies for core buildings. Despite lower levels of activity within life sciences, many occupiers in the sector have been or are going through business divestment programme that incorporate a significant component of flex space as part of their broader real estate strategies.
Richard Holberton, senior director of research at CBRE, said: “Throughout 2022, we saw transaction volumes and occupier enquiries continue to accelerate and our research shows a 37% increase in transactions completed across the whole market when compared with 2021. Flex is becoming a core part of the decision-making process for many
occupiers as they look to increase the proportion of flex space in their real estate portfolios.”
Tim Hamilton, European flex lead at CBRE, added: “Whilst the changing economic climate
could impact occupier sentiment, there remains a significant gap between corporate appetite for flex space and current availability and, as a result, we are yet to see such a slowdown in activity levels. We anticipate the shift towards the use of flex space to be more pronounced in 2023 as we see increased uncertainty in the market.”
071_RUNZE_N1_PIM
Tuesday 14 M a RCH 15.00 H
panel 1
Transformation der Innenstädte – drei Wege im Vergleich
Transformation of the inner cities – three approaches in comparison
Wednesday 15 M a RCH 15.00 H
Pane L 2
Neue Nutzung von Brach- und Industrieflächen –Wie gehen die 3 Städte mit den unterschiedlichen Herausforderungen um?
Brownfield and industrial sites to be reused –How are the 3 cities dealing with the different challenges?
MIPIM can be a crucible for positive change, despite the industry facing “urgent and acute challenges, from global supply chains to economic uncertainty”, according to TFT Consultants’ managing partner Alistair Allison. “I will be saying three things clearly to everyone who will listen: we can achieve a more sustainable, resilient built environment. We can make decarbonisation a responsibility for every stakeholder in our industry. And we can meet today’s urgent and acute challenges at the same time,” Allison said.
B Corp-certified TFT is part of an industry-wide effort to create a clearer and more consistent approach to the decarbonisation of real estate and seeks to identify targeted policy areas which
could change that outlook. The team recently helped deliver the British Property Federation’s ‘Towards Net Zero’ report, which found that 9 in 10 property leaders in the UK don’t believe the industry will achieve Net Zero Carbon.
“We know 80% of the buildings in use by 2050 have already been built. We propose that only widespread, economical and effective retrofit schemes can make those buildings ready for the future. The great barrier to doing so is the investment required,” he added.
“In the Netherlands, companies are offered tax reductions equal to 45% of their retrofit investment, to bring costs within a more manageable range. In Italy, there is a 110% ‘superbonus’ tax scheme, for building owners who
invest in improving the efficiency of their buildings. Both of these policies cover insulation upgrades, installing technology like heat pumps and solar panels and replacing old boilers.
“But what about the skills required to meet the surge in demand as works become more affordable? In the UK, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has launched a scheme in conjunction with local education centres, providing sustainable construction skills for all, including the installation of renewable technologies.
“I hope MIPIM will serve as a forum for inspiration and action. I look forward to more debate and agreement on best practice and new opportunities for decarbonisation.“
Info en continu, interviews exclusives, décryptages, nouveaux formats...
Tout pour faire Le Point
Vous pouvez retrouver tous nos contenus sur :
Le site Internet Le Point wwww.lepoint.fr
L’application Le Point
“WE ARE here to introduce the unique opportunities that Diriyah has to offer,” said Guy Perry, president of the Diriyah Development Company, of his firm’s presence at MIPIM.
“As part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, the Diriyah Company has been given the mission to transform the historical site of Diriyah into a global hub for culture, heritage, and tourism.
“Located on the western edge of the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, Diriyah, the City of Earth, is the ancestral home of the House of Al Saud and was the birthplace of the First Saudi State in 1727.”
The 14 sq km mixed-use development has a budget of $63.2bn (€59bn) which is set to add around $7.2bn to the Kingdom’s GDP, create 55,000 jobs and aims to attract more than 27 million visitors per year.
He added: “The best districts and city developments refresh their buildings and evolve over decades, even centuries. We are channelling this natural evolution by allowing more flexibility in the use of our building. Diriyah has existed and evolved for 300 years, we want our buildings to do the same. To do that we must build dynamic structures — a building may be a home
today, but in 30 years it may be the offices of a law firm and in another 30 it may be a use that we cannot anticipate — we are building to allow the organic and dynamic evolution of the district.”
To achieve all this the firm is pioneering what Perry calls “a wise city approach”. “We are not just trying to integrate every technology and latest trend into our development plans. Instead, we are guided by how those who have occupied Diriyah have lived for the last 300 years. Wadi Hanifah, the dry riverbed valley that is only wet after heavy rains, runs through the heart of our project and is the raison d’être of far more than just At-Turaif and Diriyah, it is the genesis of Riyadh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia itself.”
For Perry, MIPIM is the perfect place to showcase this. “Diriyah Company is at MIPIM to build awareness of these development plans among this large and influential audience. We want people to know that the Diriyah Company’s strategy is profound yet straightforward; create new cultural, educational, commercial, hospitality and entertainment offerings, that not only restore Diriyah as a globally connected place, but that respect, protect and celebrate Saudi history.”
OlivierLaporta Nouveauvenudanslasphèreimmobilièreen Belgique,OlivierLaportavientd’êtrenommé CEOduréseaud’agencesCentury21>P.2
LEBIEND’EXCEPTION ULTRAUNESPECTACULAIREVILLA CONTEMPORAINE
GLOBAL investment firm AEW has acquired Schiessstrasse 61, a fully occupied, multi-let office building located in the office submarket of Linksrheinisch in Düsseldorf, Germany. The asset was acquired on behalf of one of AEW’s funds.
The five-storey building, which comprises 4,400 sq m of flexible rental space was originally built in 1953. In 2021, renovation included modernising the entrance hall and staircase, and installing energy saving (LED) lighting. The asset is fully let to several credit-worthy tenants across a range of industries. Matthieu Samaran, executive director of investments at AEW, said: “This acquisition is aligned with the fund’s strategy of selectively investing in quality assets in good locations that offer stable returns over the long term.
“Schiessstrasse 61 is fully let to a diversified tenant base and therefore offers long-term income. In addition, we were impressed by the strong location in the dynam-
ic area of Linksrheinisch, host to new residential developments, which will see it transformed into a vibrant destination for living and working.”
Schiessstrasse 61 benefits from strong transport links, with the metro station Löricker Strasse located directly opposite, linking to the city centre within 15 minutes. Additionally, a new metro line is expected in the coming years, connecting to the airport. AEW was advised by Noerr, JLL and Nova Ambiente.
Funds Europe is the leading journal for the cross-border funds business. Each month you will find detailed coverage of the funds industry, spanning Ucits, alternative investment funds and ETFs. We are unique in covering the full life-cycle of funds, from investment strategy and economics, through to regulation, asset servicing and post-trade services.
FundsEuropeis read by CEOs, CTOs and COOs working within institutional, wholesale and retail investment. It is also read by professionals working in areas such as family office, private banking and fund services companies across 43 countries in Europe. It is published in print 10 times a year with a daily e-newsletter seen by more than 12,000 recipients. All content is available to view free of charge on our website and accessible via social media.
Whether you are concerned with investing, asset allocation, distribution, regulation, technology or outsourcing, Funds Europe connects the funds industry with thought leaders.
Providing Thought Leadership for Thought Leaders
www.funds-europe.com
PGIM Real Estate has acquired a large portfolio of UK single-family homes located in Manchester and Liverpool. The acquisition has been made via PGIM Real Estate’s UK Affordable Housing strategy.
Acquired from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the portfolio comprises 918 single-family rental homes located across 15 schemes. The firm said that the acquisition aligned with the aims of its UK affordable housing strategy as it delivers private rental housing at affordable rents for working families and co-renters. The investment allows the strategy to continue its focus on ESG provision, with the aim to improve the energy efficiency of the homes.
Charles Crowe, the strategy’s senior portfolio manager and head of
UK Investments at PGIM Real Estate said: “We are delighted to have made this acquisition as it ensures that much needed rental housing is available to tenants at affordable rents, at a time of high inflation and a cost of living squeeze.
“Despite challenging market conditions, our conviction in UK single-family rental remains strong, as the sector continues to provide a mutually beneficial opportunity to deliver safe, high-quality homes for families, whilst providing sustainable income for our investors,” he added.
Since its launch in December 2020 and with this acquisition, the strategy has committed nearly £300m (€339m) across 27 different housing schemes,
providing just over 1,500 homes. This makes PGIM Real Estate one of the largest private owners of single-family rental housing in the UK.
Chris Semones, managing director in the real estate business at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said: “We are pleased to have concluded the sale of this high-quality, professionally managed rental portfolio to PGIM Real Estate. Continued investment in the UK housing sector is crucial to delivering much needed supply of high-quality private rental homes. We would like to thank Pitmore for their partnership in managing the portfolio.”
Knight Frank advised and acted on behalf of PGIM Real Estate, and Savills acted on behalf of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Disponible aussi sur l’app store
sur www.decisionsdurables.com
Nouveaux business, RSE, modèles économiques innovants : Décisions durables vous accompagne pour prendre les bonnes décisions. Suivez-nous aussi sur :
UK HOTEL chain Travelodge has announced plans to expand its Spanish operations, after launching a new property in Madrid — its third in the Spanish capital. The acquisition of the lease for the Madrid hotel, the former NH Villa de Coslada, follows the appointment of global hospitality advisors Aldaba Partners to help the firm grow its Spanish hotel portfolio. Research commissioned by Travelodge from Christie & Co. Research showed that Spain is one of the most visited countries in the world and one of the fastest growing hotel markets across the globe. However, the study also revealed that there is a significant gap for branded, low cost and good qual-
ity accommodation in the midscale and economy segment. This growing segment indexes favourably with modern travellers who
are looking for affordable accommodation options. Target locations include Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Bilbao, Granada, Mal-
aga, Palma, Seville and Valencia. Steve Bennett, Travelodge chief property & development officer said: “We are delighted to launch our Spanish expansion programme by acquiring the lease of the NH Villa de Coslada hotel in Madrid and appointing Aldaba Partners to help us grow our business across Spain.
‘”The Spanish hotel market is growing at pace with demand exceeding supply and we want to take this opportunity to take the Travelodge brand to new business and leisure locations across Spain. We can offer investors and landlords an alternative longterm income stream in Spain, whilst offering business and leisure travellers more choice and great value accommodation.” Travelodge already operates a successful lease hotel model in Spain and Travelodge Madrid Coslada Aeropuerto, will be the group’s sixth hotel in Spain.
SUIVEZ EN DIRECT TOUTE L’ACTUALITÉ
TRANSACTIONNELLE ET CAPITALISTIQUE DU MARCHÉ DE L’IMMOBILIER
CHOISISSEZ UNE FORMULE D’ABONNEMENT ADAPTÉE À VOTRE PROFIL
abo@cfnewsimmo.net
A raft of incoming legislation means that time is running out for landlords with older stock, as the spectre of stranded assets prompts concrete action
AS THE big players in real estate meet for this year’s MIPIM, over in Brussels another gathering is taking place — one that will have a major, far-reaching impact for the European property industry. If all goes to plan, Members of the European Parliament will this week pass a piece of legislation that represents a big step forward in real estate’s decarbonisation journey. Its stated objective: to “substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption in the EU building sector by 2030, and make it climate neutral by 2050”.
The directive being debated acknowledges some key truths about real estate’s role in the climate crisis. Not least that 40% of the world’s carbon emissions derive from a combination of constructing and, to a larger extent, operating buildings.
Cue a huge, dual challenge for the industry: to find ways of decarbonising a fundamentally intensive and energy-hungry process, while at the same time retrofitting existing buildings — which ac-
count for the vast majority — to get them up to modern standards.
The reality of the situation has been known for years, even if action hasn’t always been proportional.
But Matthew Durdin, global business development leader in the building solutions division at ABB — a global firm offering sustainable retrofitting services to developers — believes events of the past three years have acted as a catalyst for the industry.
He says: “Before COVID, smart building and the wellness factor didn’t get much of a look in. Smart buildings at that time were nice-to-have assets.
“It would mean having a raised rental potential by retrofitting to a higher standard. It would potentially avoid the voids, it might move you into a client base where you’d be more likely to get premium rental.
“Post-COVID those things that were nice to have, have become essential to have.”
The market has spoken. But what does retrofitting mean in practice?
There is no uniform answer to that. Certainly not in cities where buildings that have stood for 200 or 300 years, through multiple eras of architecture and construction, nestle among the new builds of this century.
The solutions to such complex problems lie in an array of technological solutions that can be used in retrofitting. From low carbon bricks to software that accurately measures a building’s entire operational and embodied carbon profile, to virus-neutralising paint, a vast array of tech exists to enable a greener, healthier real estate industry.
“It all depends on the retrofit,” Durdin says. “It could be that they want to move the technology on and lift the whole experience of the space, that’s a big challenge.
“That makes people more productive. It can be measured.”
Another thing that can be measured in this process is the price tag. And it is one with the potential to jeopardise bottom lines for real estate developers and investors.
As investors increasingly prioritise clean, green buildings designed, built and managed to the highest ESG standards, those that fall short — the majority — are in
Scan QR code to schedule a demo of our VMS marketing solution and FDI data during MIPIM.
danger of becoming what’s known as ‘stranded assets’.
The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) defines these stranded assets as “properties that will be increasingly exposed to the risk of early economic obsolescence due to climate change because they will not meet (potential) future regulatory efficiency standards or market expectations”.
“These buildings will become less marketable and may require costly refurbishment measures,” CRREM adds. That process is not only well under way. It is accelerating. Which means big financial problems for investors who will be forced to spend big to get assets up to scratch. It means refurbishing and retrofitting buildings to far higher standards than existed when they first went up, and in some cases, starting from scratch with complete redevelopments.
One of the drivers of this is the increasing reliance by investors on technical due diligence (TDD) to assess the ESG-compliance of potential acquisitions. The other side to this coin is that TDD can give an indication as to the risk level of a building becoming a stranded asset and any future retrofitting requirements. One of the firms informing this new approach is ESG data and benchmarks specialist GRESB.
Christina Djambazca, senior associate for real estate at GRESB says: “In the end, the main difference between an asset exposed to stranding and one that is not is whether all ESG risks have been identified and accounted for.
“Any solution that provides real estate investors and managers with the right information to judge stranding risk is already helping in converting those uncertainty factors into risk indicators that can be quantified.” Does that mean that following TDD, risk-averse investors will simply ditch any building asset that doesn’t make the grade in favour of the new prime, ESG-compliant stock? If so, taken on a global scale, the consequences for real estate investment would be dramatic.
But Emma Hoskyn, JLL’s head of sustainability for the UK, says that this is not necessarily the case even
in a highly developed and rigorously regulated market like the UK. She says: “We’re seeing this very fast shift to prime assets, and a redefinition of prime to include more sustainable and ESG features. One of the key drivers for an asset being stranded is lack of tenant demand because it doesn’t hit clients’ sustainability criteria.
“Some assets may not be stranded today because there is still tenant demand for less sustainable assets, in some markets and for some asset types; but this could change as market expectation changes.”
The million dollar — potentially billions of dollars — question is how? How are things going to change so that existing stock can be retrofitted without totally wiping out its investment value?
The answer, says Hoskyn, lies in transformative technology. Just as the cost of wind turbines and other sustainable technologies has dramatically decreased over time — in turn, increasing their profitability for investors — so the cost of retrofitting buildings is set to fall.
“Over time there are changing methodologies and changing technologies. The way we decarbonise will improve over time. There will be new ways that are much less intrusive and less carbon-intensive in themselves.
“The cost of retrofitting is more expensive now than it will be in the future.”
West Media World is a Belgrade-based company that offers full media support to all real estate and associated industry professionals in Serbia and the SEE region. Through our regular and special editions, we keep up with all the latest news and trends in the real estate business in Serbia and globally. We share information from the real estate market and connect all companies and institutions from Serbia and the region involved in this massive business chain: investors, construction companies, architects, designers, furniture manufacturers, manufacturers and importers of construction materials, interior furnishing companies, banks and insurance companies, competent state institutions, brokerage and consulting companies, appraisers, real estate agencies, and business associations, all the way to the end user – buyer or tenant.
West Media World is a Belgrade-based company that offers full media support to all real estate and associated industry professionals in Serbia and the SEE region. Through our regular and special editions, we keep up with all the latest news and trends in the real estate business in Serbia and globally. We share information from the real estate market and connect all companies and institutions from Serbia and the region involved in this massive business chain: investors, construction companies, architects, designers, furniture manufacturers, manufacturers and importers of construction materials, interior furnishing companies, banks and insurance companies, competent state institutions, brokerage and consulting companies, appraisers, real estate agencies, and business associations, all the way to the end user – buyer or tenant.
OUR PORTFOLIO INCLUDES:
OUR PORTFOLIO INCLUDES:
Regular REAL ESTATE magazine’s print edition, published bimonthly in both Serbian and English, as well as special editions
•
Regular REAL ESTATE magazine’s print edition, published bimonthly in both Serbian and English, as well as special editions
REAL ESTATE magazine’s digital media platform, which includes a bilingual web portal in Serbian and English, official social media profiles (IG, FB, LinkedIn), and newsletter promotions through our large client base
•
REAL ESTATE magazine’s digital media platform, which includes a bilingual web portal in Serbian and English, official social media profiles (IG, FB, LinkedIn), and newsletter promotions through our large client base
• Organization of events and conferences
• Organization of events and conferences
Once a little understood niche within residential, co-living’s generational appeal is now helping this asset class expand its institutional credentials
REAL estate investors love to put assets in boxes, but there is one burgeoning sector which continues to defy definition. And that is perhaps what makes co-living so exciting, according to Karim Habra, head of Europe and co-head of Asia Pacific at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Co-living is an extension of residential, but it’s also part hospitality, part student housing, and part affordable housing,” Habra says. “We would not look at an asset class unless the demand dynamics were compelling. And the demand is 10 to 50 times higher than current supply, depending on the markets, which means co-living has an exciting future.”
In December, Ivanhoé Cambridge became the largest institutional investor in Brus -
sels-based Cohabs, a co-living specialist managing around 1,500 rooms across the cities of Brussels, Paris, New York, Madrid and Luxembourg. Two other institutions — Belfius Insurance, and the property arm of the Belgian Sovereign Wealth Fund SFPIM — also joined the €110m funding round, while AG Real Estate and Alphastone reduced their participation.
“What we liked about the Cohabs deal was not just the fundamentals of the co-living sector,” Habra says. “When you invest into a successful operating company, you generate performance not only from the assets, but also from the operations. That’s essentially a private equity deal, with the real estate as collateral. We know that all the equity we
have invested into the company will be used to add buildings and beds. Having the right team on the ground means you can create value and pursue granular deals in a way which is harder for us to do as a large investor. We see clear opportunities for value creation and outperforming the market.”
Habra adds: “Cohabs identifies the right buildings, it converts them into a really great product, and then manages the rooms. There are significant common areas and amenities, which we know are very important to the users.” Cohabs is currently targeting 5,000 beds in the medium term which Habra says will still exceed demand. “Last year alone, Cohabs had over 10,000 applications, despite doing relatively little marketing,” he says. “Furthermore, we were impressed with the business resilience during the pandemic, when they maintained a 90% occupancy rate. Occupancy today is around 99.5% which says everything about the need
for further supply.”
Ivanhoé Cambridge isn’t the only institutional investor eyeing the potential of co-living in Europe. At the end of 2019, AXA IM Alts acquired France’s Groupe Kley, an integrated student housing and co-living operator, and 2023 will be a year of growth for this business line. “We’ll be launching the first Kley co-living asset this year,” Laurent Lavergne, global head of AXA IM Alts, says. “It’s an interesting segment which also has synergies with Kadans, our life-sciences platform, where we
largest PBSA portfolio in France. In February, Uxco unveiled its latest Ecla co-living residence in Paris-Villejuif, representing an investment of €97.5m. Ecla is a concept of premium co-living residences designed to meet the societal aspirations of younger generations, characterised by significant common areas including co-working spaces, catering, cinema rooms, shared kitchens, gyms and more.
Unsurprisingly, all this institutional interest is provoking further merger and acquisition activity in the space. In January, Habyt, the biggest co-living operator in Europe and Asia, merged with Common, the largest co-living operator in North America, to create a transatlantic business of considerable scale. Habyt was founded in 2017 by Luca Bovone, a former early employee of Dropbox Europe, and is now present in 12 countries and 24 cities, with over 10,000 units worldwide.
see both the campus universities requiring accommodation for their students and a lot of growth industries seeking to offer accommodation to their graduate workers to boost their employment package.”
Lavergne adds: “While it is likely to remain a niche for us, we think that co-living will also continue to benefit from the increased mobility we have seen in the wake of the pandemic. Workers are not living as close to the office as they used to but may need a hybrid solution in cities for parttime use. This kind of product is closer to hospitality but has more in common with PBSA due to the demographic profile of the recently graduated, young professional residents that are primarily attracted to it.”
Other up-and-coming players in the sector include Uxco, a student and micro-living specialist which currently boasts the third
Common meanwhile is a technology-backed residential brand operating in 12 cities with 7,000 units in co-living, microunit, and traditional apartments. With over 22,000 units signed and under development and over $110m (€104m) in venture capital investment, Common is expanding into 22 cities across the world.
The combined entity will operate over 30,000 units in over 40 cities and 14 countries across three continents, and has big ambitions to bring to life the next generation of living concepts operating worldwide.
“This larger combined footprint makes sense for both residents and real estate partners alike and creates the first truly global co-living operator. And there’s no one doing this better outside the US, with like-minded values and digital capabilities, than Habyt,” says Brad Hargreaves, founder and chairman at Common. “By merging, we are creating an international co-living network that more and more renters are seeking out.”
“The merger makes perfect sense for both companies — Habyt had no North American presence and Common had none in Europe,” says Luca Bovone, founder and CEO of Habyt. “Our new combined resources present a fully digital, easy solution to access rental properties across the world, something that has been historically derailed by endless paperwork or bureaucracy.”
Both Common and Habyt have seen their businesses grow threefold in 2022 and both companies anticipate their businesses doubling in 2023. With this merger, the combined entity aims to turn profitable during 2023.
“At Common, our mission is to create positive and resourceful changes in the housing industry, when housing is such a challenge for so many,” says Karlene Holloman, CEO of Common and future CEO North America of the Habyt Group. “With this merger, we now have a global platform to redefine the living experience all over the world.”
“The demand is 10 to 50 times higher than current supply, depending on the markets, which means co-living has an exciting future”
Karim Habra
JBC Média is the largest real estate and construction publisher in French Canada.
JBC Média est le plus important éditeur au Canada français, du secteur de l’immobilier et de la construction.
New solutions for property’s pain points reflect generational shifts and expectations that cannot be ignored, according to a raft of experts
REAL estate’s latest, innovative solutions are finding inspiration in the unlikeliest places — from the sewers to deep space — and the industry’s future will be all the stronger for it, according to Faisal Butt, managing partner and founder of built environment tech VC Pi Labs.
Pi Labs has recently kicked off its 2023 Growth Programme, backing five early-stage startups behind technological solutions that are expected to positively impact the way businesses and societies interact with the built world. But what is so striking about this year’s slate of ideas is how far many are removed from
traditional real estate tools. Take Untap, a startup on a mission to monitor community health via the sewers in real-time, detecting viruses before symptoms emerge to ultimately prevent viral transmission. Airmo, meanwhile, pioneers the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions from space, using satellite constellation and novel LiDAR technology.
Butt says: “This year’s cohort reflects our realisation that the innovation that is going to take the built world forward over the next 10 years may not come from within real estate, and it may not come from the tradi -
tional proptech names. The challenges are ever more complex, and therefore the solutions need to be drawn from a much wider source.
“Indeed, many of the startups we are backing wouldn’t self-identify as proptechs at all. Yet we recognise that firms such as Untap are solving a city and built environment issue. A lot of investors and developers are thinking about health and wellness in their portfolios, so a healthtech entrepreneur such as this has an important contribution to make.”
Butt says that monitoring emissions from space is another surprising — yet effective — piece of lateral thinking. “We found that you can have all kinds of sensors down on the ground or on buildings, but in some use
cases, you need to go up into space to get more granular readings of properties on earth. That was counter-intuitive but fascinating. Airmo identifies as spacetech, but we see so many built environment applications for their low-orbit satellites. This kind of technology has become much more prevalent since Elon Musk showed you can build an economically viable space-based company in the private sector.” VC Pi Labs has also been focused on the future of work, which is evolving at escalating rates post-pandemic. “When you look at the solutions required through a broader lens, it’s not just about co-working or flexible offices anymore; we’re grappling with platforms like Teams, Zoom and Slack. There are many more nuances to make a hybrid workplace function properly, and we thought issues surrounding boundaries and burnout were more relevant than ever before.” Accordingly, Ambr seeks to help managers prevent stress and burnout in their teams, integrating with workplace tools, scanning for burnout risks, and alerting management when action needs to be taken.
Kertos is a no-code SaaS solution connecting an organisation’s entire infrastructure to manage personal data and fully automate their privacy operations, while Trunk tackles the collaboration and scheduling
challenges in prefab construction, for teams to dynamically schedule, improve build quality and deliver projects 20% faster. Unsurprisingly, many of these solutions are targeting pain points relating to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
Since the Paris Agreement (COP21) was concluded in 2015, framework conditions for the real estate industry have gradually tightened with a view to securing an environmentally friendly future. At present, the EU Taxonomy Regulation, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directives (CSRD), Insurance Distribution Directives (IDD) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directives (MIFiD2) all weigh on landlords in Europe, with big implications for the viability of their portfolios.
Meanwhile, generational shifts are increasingly important as end-users drive change through choice and personal values. Renowned economic and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin argues that priorities have already shifted, with the “Age of Progress”, which focused on efficiency, now giving way to the “Age of Resilience”, rewarding adaptivity and regeneration.
This changing of the guard matters for the real estate industry, as younger generations question the expropriation, commodification, and consumption of the Earth’s resources, as well as the ownership of nature as property. Rifkin says that the next generation will continue to pivot from “growth to flourishing, financial capital to ecological capital, and productivity to regenerativity”.
If there is a real shift from hyper-consumption to eco-stewardship, global economics will also undergo a seismic shift.
Rifkin is a part of the stellar line-up of speakers at this year’s MIPIM, and as today’s keynote speaker right here in Cannes,
will be sharing his ideas with delegates first hand. But importantly, his philosophy also reflects a broader trend of seeing resilience not just as a survival mechanism, but — despite the challenging outlook — part of a new dawn of opportunity.
At the recent presentation of the Green Deal Industrial Plan to the European Commission (EC), president Ursula von der Leyen said: “We know that in the fight against climate change, what is most important is the net-zero industry. We want to seize this moment.”
After a challenging 12 months for European politics, in which the bloc shifted from solidarity over the pandemic, to division caused by the energy crisis, the EC is now in fighting mood. While war in Ukraine provoked a crisis of conscience over the use of Russian gas and the spectre of energy shortages, it also accelerated the funding of renewables and EU polices on energy transition. While the real estate industry grapples with incoming legislation, investors and developers are discovering the rewards of following a virtuous track. Equally, tech firms crafting tools to aid with ESG alignment are encountering significant appetite for their solutions.
In Rifkin’s latest book, The Age of Resilience, the social theorist notes that viruses keep coming, the climate is warming, and the Earth is gradually rewilding. While Rifkin’s conclusion is that nature is far more formidable than we thought, and our species seems much smaller and less significant in the bigger picture of life on Earth, there is still hope for carving out a meaningful — if adaptive — future on the planet.
“The innovation that is going to take the built world forward over the next 10 years may not come from within real estate”
Faisal ButtVC Pi Lab’s Faisal Butt MIPIM keynote speaker, Jeremy Rifkin
MARDI 14 MARS
À 17H45 AUDITORIUM A
TUESDAY 14 MARCH AT 5.45 PM AUDITORIUM A
Montpellier’s new architectural “Follies”