MIPIM 2025 NEWS 3 by RX REAL ESTATE SHOWS

Abu

Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC): The Custodian of Abu Dhabi’s

Real Estate Future

ADREC drives sustainable growth and investor conﬁdence, positioning Abu Dhabi as a global real estate hub.

ADREC enhances Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector through Transparent regulations to build investor trust, Innovative services and digitization, Data-driven insights for more intelligent decision-making, and Strategic investment attraction and advisory services.

By fostering a resilient, sustainable, and investor-friendly market, ADREC strengthens Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy and elevates development standards and liveability.

Africa real estate, life sciences, Oman, AI, data centres, talent, logistics, Japan, Sweden, Albania, architecture, tokenisation, Old Trafford, Spain, the US, Germany, residential

Conferences

All the session details, expert speakers, conferences and events, to help you plan your time at MIPIM and make the most of the latest intelligence, insights and debate

Spotted at MIPIM

Co-hosts Elliott Wood and dMFK Architects organised the return of SwiMIPIM for 2025. The open-water swim raised money for Streets of London, a charity providing specialist support for people who are homeless.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Michel Filzi EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief, Isobel Lee; News Editor, Julian Newby; Sub Editors, Neil Churchman, Joanna Stephens; Proof Reader, Debbie Lincoln; Reporters, Adam Branson, Clive Bull, Ben Cooper, Mark Faithful, Andy Fry, Liz Morrell, Nigel Willmott; Editorial Management, Boutique Media International; Graphic Studio, studioA Design; Layout Designers, Harriet Palmer, Sunnie Newby; Head of Photographers, Yann Coatsaliou/360 Medias; Photographers, Cyril Chateau, Patrick Frega, Phyrass Haidar, Olivier Houeix, Sebastien Nogier PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director, Martin Screpel; Publishing Manager, Amrane Lamiri; Printer CREAMANIA (France).

Advertising contact in Cannes Aswad Regent aswad.regent@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 © 2025, RX France Market Publications. Printed on PEFC certified paper

MIPIM Awards Ceremony

Followed by a cocktail reception open to all participants

Thursday 13 March 2025, from 18.30 Grand Auditorium, Palais des Festivals

You stood out in Cannes by showcasing your business on stands that inspired and delivered your message

MIPIM News visited the Oman pavilion to find out about the diverse, dynamic investment opportunities of its real estate market

The Liverpool Stand was the cool spot to be by the beach in Cannes

The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) team told us all about this world-class business and lifestyle destination situated in the city of Riyadh

The City of Krakow welcomed delegates with smiles all round. Magdalena Fortuna (left), Justyna Habrajska and Dominika Urbanska

Despite the variable weather, delegates powered through the rain to do business, network and even play sport in and around the Palais

made

The Newcastle stand proved popular with delegates keen to find out more about investment opportunities and network

Delegates

the most of the breaks in the rain to explore the pavilions along the beachfront

You made MIPIM your own on Wednesday in Cannes, with a full calendar of appointments and stands to check out

The Howden Beach Club, in association with Padel Social Club, gave delegates a chance to compete on the courts

3-4 December 2025

Rosewood Hong Kong

AMBITIOUS plans to build a new stadium for Manchester United Football Club and regenerate a huge area of surrounding land could surpass the London 2012 games in scale, Lord Sebastian Coe (right), who oversaw the Olympics project, has told MIPIM delegates.

The former athlete and figurehead for London 2012 said that the proposed plans to regenerate the Old Trafford area could be “the biggest thing that has ever been undertaken” in Europe.

Lord Coe, who has been appointed chair of the Old Trafford Regeneration Taskforce, was speaking on stage at a packed MIPIM event yesterday to discuss plans for a new stadium for the club.

He said: “I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say that this has the potential to be not only a bigger project than 2012, but in terms of European scope and scale probably the biggest thing that has ever been undertaken.

“The role of the taskforce has been to think big, to challenge ourselves and others to make sure that alongside the iconic stadium we’re literally squeezing every ounce of regeneration — and legacy, educational ambition, local ambition, green space and transportation challenges. All of these things are really the task we’ve set ourselves.”

On Tuesday Manchester United revealed plans that have been years in the making to build a new 100,000-seater stadium close to the

‘Probably the biggest thing that has ever been undertaken’

existing Old Trafford ground.

The ambitious masterplan for what Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said could be the “world’s greatest football stadium” has been delivered by Foster + Partners.

It entails a vast public-realm space surrounding the pitch, all underneath a glass ceiling climbing to three sharp peaks that would be visible for miles around.

Sitting alongside local political leaders and one of the executives from Manchester United, Lord Coe said that under his leadership the taskforce has been charged with having a “broader understanding of the regionality of this”.

He was joined on the stage by Andy Burnham (left), Mayor of Greater Manchester; Collette Roche, chief operating officer at Manchester United Football Club; and Tom Ross, leader of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council.

Burnham said that the Manchester United stadium plan was a sign that the city and the region were “going up a gear”, and fulfilling his own lifelong political ambition to stimulate more investment and growth in the North West region.

“This is not just one project in the heart of Greater Manchester,” he said. “This is about rethinking the North of England — the North West in particular.

“We have challenged ourselves as a city region and we’re coming forward now with a much-strengthened capability to bring all these projects for-

Itsuhiro Miura of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

JAPAN MAKES THE CASE FOR URBAN GREEN SPACES

URBAN leaders should prioritise the development of green spaces, both in order to provide amenities for citizens and to mitigate for climate change, according to Itsuhiro Miura, deputy director general, city housing, in Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

“We believe that creating urban green spaces, ensuring [sufficient levels of] affordable housing and leveraging digital technologies are essential to achieve a sustainable society,” he said in his keynote speech at yesterday’s Invest In Japan session. “We are focusing on urban green spaces and climate adaptation.

Japan is a beautiful country with abundant nature, but its urban green space is limited compared to international standards.

Addressing this is crucial for climate-change adaptation, such as mitigating extreme heat, and promoting biodiversity and wellbeing.” Miura added: “We are aiming to enhance the quality and quantity of urban green spaces by encouraging private-sector investment. We launched a certification system for excellent green-space development last year, under [which] we certificate outstanding private-sector initiatives that contribute to securing green spaces.”

Love culture, city life and the great outdoors? Visit Ottawa

OTTAWA Tourism is at MIPIM for the first time looking for investors to help develop several projects to boost Canada’s capital city as a visitor destination.

The city already has 10 million visitors a year, with a spend of CA$2.6bn (€1.7bn), said Katherine Callary, vice-president for destination development at Ottawa Tourism. But the city believes it is ideally

placed to increase that significantly. “Our two largest segments are travellers who love cultural activities, who are attracted by our museums, indigenous culture, multicultural festivals and city life; and outdoor enthusiasts, who love to get out into the country. Ottawa is a cosmopolitan city shrunk to a town, so there is easy access to the countryside,” she said.

And in winter, it boasts the longest outdoor skating rink in the world along the Rideau canal, as well as skiing.

One of the main urban attractions of the city of 1.4 million is the bustling ByWard market district. Ottawa Tourism is looking for an owner-developer for a major new destination attraction to complement it in the centre of the city. It is open to proposals on type of activity, said Kelleagh Alexander, director of experience development. Ottawa is also looking at development along the river front and at LeBreton Flats to the west of the city. A new Live Nation concert venue and Hard Rock hotel and casino are due to open this year. Tourism will also be helped by more direct flights to Ottawa from London and Paris — just in time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the city as Bytown in 1826.

Adding social value to core business

THE DOING Business With

A Purpose session yesterday explored how real estate companies can give something extra beyond their core business, showcasing examples of initiatives that tackle societal issues and generally aim to make life better.

Andrea Carpenter, director at Diversity Talks Real Estate, outlined how her platform connects female and ethnic-minority professionals with speaking opportunities across Europe, and provides training for a successful stage appearance. She said that, when it comes to under-representation, visibility matters: “We set up a speakers’ database of women and other under-represented groups who want to speak on stage. We were finding that event organisers were saying: ‘They don’t want to do it; we can’t find them.’ We wanted to break that myth,” she said.

Philippe Journo, president and founder of Compagnie de Phalsbourg, spoke about the importance of the 1 immeuble, 1 œuvre (1 building, 1 artwork) programme, founded in 2015 in collaboration with the French culture ministry. The initiative

brings together businesses, developers, real estate companies and social landlords who have committed to purchasing or commissioning a work of art from a living artist for each of their real estate developments. Journo said enhancing buildings with art is a responsibility, elevates peoples’ lives and leaves something for future generations.

Neil Slater, CEO of Redevco, talked about the valuable work of LandAid, a UK charity that brings together the property and wider built-environment industry to support life-changing services for 16- to 24-year-olds experiencing homelessness. LandAid awards monetary grants and provides free property expertise to youth homelessness charities across the UK. The panel moderator was Sonia Lavadinho, founder and CEO of Bfluid Prospective Research.

Ottawa Tourism’s Kelleagh Alexander (left) and Katherine Callery

Diversity Talks Real Estate’s Andrea Carpenter

One million businesses £350 billion economy 15 million people

TUESDAY

Welcome from Northern local authorities

Hear from Blackpool Council, Salford City Council, Trafford Council, Bolton Council, Wigan Council, and Stockport Council North of England stand

In conversation with Homes England chief executive Eamonn Boylan North of England stand

Faster, bigger, better: How can the North become the UK’s development driver?

Hear from Gateshead Council, Igloo Regeneration, Trafford Council, Wigan Council, Salford City Council, and WSP UK Stage

WEDNESDAY

Flip_it at MIPIM WSP, Layer.studio, and Studio Hoodless introduce Flip_it, an immersive brainstorming session that redefines regeneration North of England stand

THURSDAY

Investible North: Where should investors put their money?

Hear from Liverpool City Council, Newcastle City Council, Blackpool Council, Manchester City Council, Bolton Council, and Stockport Council UK Stage

Place North MIPIM wrap-up

Get the thoughts of private sector giants including Urban Splash founder Tom Bloxham, Muse managing director Phil Mayall, and Igloo Regeneration’s senior development manager Insiyah Khushnood on how MIPIM 2025 has panned out and enjoy some casual drinks as we kick off the MIPIM wind-down North of England stand 10:30am 3pm 4:15pm 2:30pm 11:15am 2:30pm

MAYOR STRESSES TOURISM SCHEMES IN MARICA REGION

THE MAYOR of Maricá, a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, is attending MIPIM to showcase the investment opportunities available in his city, in particular in the tourism sector.

“There are a lot of development opportunities in Maricá at the moment, especially on the tourism side,” Washington Siqueira said. “It is the eighth biggest economy in Brazil and a huge amount of development is happening there already. There is a big diversity of projects in development right now. We are here to bring in some private investments to complement the public investments that we have already put into action.”

Asked whether he was enjoying a successful MIPIM, Siqueira said: “Yes. We have been coming here for a long time. It always brings with it big opportunities. We have had a lot of talks with cities and investors and we have already found some opportunities.”

Athens aims to match a great history with a dynamic future

MAYOR of Athens Haris Doukas is in town to seek international investment partners for the Greek capital’s ambitious multi-pronged redevelopment programme.

Speaking to MIPIM News, he said: “My clear message to investors this week is that Athens is back on track and ready to support investors. Athens is very dynamic and is strengthening its infrastructure. So now we are aiming to trigger the attention of funds and investors that would like to support our development programme.”

Athens, with its historic centre, is a magnet for visitors, so supporting sustainable tourism remains a top priority for the mayor. No less important is a massive regeneration project that will see the creation of a new urban oasis on the site of run-down industrial district Votanikos. Doukas

said that €600m have been invested in the project. “In around two and a half years, we will have a huge park, a football stadium,

new roads and offices, a university and a mix of housing,” he said. “Already there is a metro station. I believe this will create significant value to investors.”

There are, of course, many cities for investors to choose from. So why Athens? “It is a fascinating, dynamic city with a great history,” Doukas said. “And there are so many things to do in a compact area, which is why it is such a popular destination. We are also engaged in a tree-planting programme to help reduce the local temperature.”

Doukas has also met with other European mayors while in Cannes. “We have had some interesting discussions about urban best practice and things that could bring added value to our cities,” he said, adding that these include tackling climate change and social housing.

Milan: ‘a big vision’ delivered locally

MILAN is basing its latest regeneration plans on the three pillars of new social housing, 10 new gateway neighbourhoods located around internodal connections to the city’s public-transport network and the regeneration of public spaces across its existing neighbourhoods.

Giancarlo Tancredi, deputy mayor for urban regeneration for the Municipality of Milan, said that the city’s investment plans, launched in December, would see 10,000 new social-housing units built to help cope with the increasing demand for homes. Meanwhile, the new neighbourhoods at transport interchanges would help connect Milan with its surrounding municipalities.

“Our ambition is to have a big vision, delivered at a local scale,”

Tancredi said. “The new neighbourhoods around the links to the metro lines will be built as highrise, high-density locations and are on land owned by the municipality. Currently, there is very little at these places and we want to create vibrant new neighbourhoods.”

These will also include “iconic landmarks”, Tancredi added, as the local authority intends to locate the New European Library, a university campus and life-sciences buildings outside of the city centre in order to relieve congestion.

“At the same time, we have 20 urban brownfield and railway-yard sites that total 1,000 ha, which we are regenerating with the private sector, representing a €14bn investment,” Tancredi said. Milan will also be co-hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics. This

will involve the development of a new hockey stadium and an Olympic Village which, after the Games, will be converted into Europe’s largest student-accommodation complex.

Mayor of Maricá Washington Siqueira

Mayor of Athens Haris Doukas

Municipality of Milan’s Giancarlo Tancredi

A destination set to become one of the worlds greatest gathering places

Diriyah Company, the developer behind Diriyah, The City of Earth—one of the world’s largest and most diverse urban development projects on the outskirts of Riyadh—is participating in MIPIM 2025 as part of the Saudi Pavilion. The company will be making exclusive announcements at MIPIM alongside announcing project updates and showcasing its investment and commercial office leasing opportunities, real estate developments, and Diriyah’s long-term growth vision.

Our participation

Join our speaking sessions

• “How the Saudi real estate projects are contributing to the development of the Kingdom’s economy and the realisation of Vision 2030”, Salon Croisette (Palais 3), 11 March at 2-3pm.

• “Changing demographics in Saudi Arabia and how this affects development planning”, Saudi Talks Stage Hall Mediterranean, 12 March at 10am.

• “Creating Liveable Cities with Purpose”, Saudi Talks Stage Hall Mediterranean, 13 March at 10-11am.

• “The evolving real estate sector in Saudi Arabia. How changing regulations, giga-projects and mega events are transforming the real estate landscape in KSA”, Geo Focus Stage, 13 March at 3-4pm.

• The Road to 2030 – A Perspective from The City of Earth.”, at Audi A within the Palais,13 March at 11:30am-12.30pm and take part in Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia’s Exclusive Investor Dinner, at The Majestic, 13 March at 7pm.

Visit our stand

Attendees are invited to visit Diriyah Company’s booth situated at the C20 Saudi Pavilion to meet company representatives, discover the explore development models of the 14 sq km Diriyah masterplan, and find out more about the investment and leasing opportunities that will accelerate The City of Earth’s development.

safe space

Are you having an issue? can we help you? MIPIM is committed to providing a safe and secure business environment built on mutual respect for all participants. Inappropriate behaviour, disrespect or harassment, is not part of the MIPIM experience and will not be tolerated.

Please call +33 6 17 47 55 15 or contact a member of MIPIM staff (orange badge) if you have an issue.

Monday 13.00 – 20.00

Tuesday 8.30 – 22.00

Wednesday 8.30 – 19.00

Thursday 8.30 – 20.30 Friday 9.00 – 12.00

Hungary: key role in the heart of Europe

HUNGARY’s ambassador to France, György Habsburg, is at MIPIM to talk about Hungary’s strengths, particularly its role as a bridge between east and west. “Hungary is in the heart of Europe, a logistical hub for Europe,” he said. “We want to gain visibility and show the results we have succeeded in reaching over the last years in a difficult time. Having a war in the neighbourhood is not easy to balance, but when I see the amount of foreign direct investment in Hungary, that we have stable, big investors coming, when I see the development of our real estate market, I think Hungary can be proud of how it managed the situation.” Habsburg said the country had become strong in car manufacturing. “We have investors start -

ing with Germany, but we also have investors from China, from South Korea, from America that are interested in coming to Hungary,” he said. “Of course, the development of real estate has to grow in the same way.”

Four factors that drive real estate

LOCAL factors are often the main determinant of real estate conditions, but financial and risk advisory group Kroll has identified four wider factors shaping markets across Europe and beyond.

First is flexibility to move for work, tourism and study. “This is driving the rise of renting, with new segments such as student accommodation and housing for seniors,” said Paola Ricciardi, head of Kroll in Italy. Second is the ageing population, requiring new infrastructure

and residential building. “In Italy, 25% of the population is over 65; by 2040 this could be 35%,” she said. Third, digitalisation, driven by AI, is making data centres and infrastructure attractive asset classes. And fourth is sustainability.

According to Mark Whittingham, managing director, Real Estate Advisory Group, EMEA: “Risk in ESG readiness is topping clients’ list of what they want to know — how to price it, but we still have too few transactions to give a true valuation.”

Spanish panel airs construction fears

“NO SPAIN, no gain!” was the cry from David Martínez, CEO, AEDAS Homes, as the Spanish conference examined Spain’s affordable housing market as a gateway to profitable and sustainable investments. Panelists agreed that the shortage of affordable housing was a challenge and an opportunity. Sandra Daza, general director, Gesvalt, told the session that Spain is currently a major real estate destination in Europe, with leading growth in Europe in 2025, record-breaking tourism, real estate yields ranging from 5% to 7% across all segments, and prominent investment opportunities in student housing.

Martínez highlighted a lack of construction capacity. “This is something that’s happening all across Europe. The construction industry is ageing and every year there are

fewer skilled tradespeople. The good news is that the industry is moving towards new methods of construction,” he said.

Henry Gallego, CEO Ktesios SOCIMI called for government action: “We need tax initiatives, and more lending facilities to make affordable housing a segment that is attractive,” he said.

Lessons from social housing in Denmark

DELEGATES at The Residential Workshop – Mapping Capital Flows, Markets And Shifts In Living Concepts session at MIPIM learned about Denmark’s more inclusive social housing offer.

“In Denmark we look at social housing in a broader sense,” said Sophie Hæstorp Anderson, the country’s social affairs and housing minister. “We want a social mix of tenants and we want both old and young but also people with middle income to be part of the social sector.”

Social housing makes up 20% of all housing in Denmark, with a scheme set up to ensure that such homes are provided by non-profit organisations rather than being owned by the municipalities. Despite this, the sector is still highly regulated. “Every time we have social housing the municipality

decide where to put it in conjunction with the non-profit organisations. After that the municipality has a right to every fourth available dwelling, which they can use as social housing.” The remaining 75% is rented out by the non-profit organisation, she said.

Gesvalt’s Sandra Daza

Hungary’s ambassador to France, György Habsburg

Sophie Hæstorp Anderson, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing, Denmark

Kroll Advisory’s Mark Whittingham and Paola Ricciardi

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‘We need to build 96,000 housing units every day’

Anacláudia Rossbach, executive director of UN-Habitat, addresses today’s C40 Cities conference session, Financing Neighbourhood Regeneration In Europe: Cities And RE Path To Tackle The Housing Crisis Without Sacrificing Climate Goals. MIPIM News caught up with her ahead of her address…

What are some of the initiatives you are promoting to create smarter cities and help cities cut CO2 emissions?

With two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, cities are key to climate action — both as contributors to challenges and as drivers of solutions. Cities generate 70% of CO₂ emissions and are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, floods and rising sea levels. The two billion people living in cities could be exposed to an additional temperature increase of at least 0.5ºC by 2040. However, with the right investments in housing and basic services, cities can scale climate action. Addressing the urgent global housing crisis affecting 2.8 billion people globally is a prerequisite. UN-Habitat focuses on integrating climate adaptation and mitigation into urban development. Through the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships [CHAMP] we are strengthening collaboration between national and local governments. The Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation [SURGe] initiative, launched at COP27, is helping cities decarbonise urban systems — buildings and housing, energy and mobility.

RISE-UP: Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor is a key initiative to mobilise investment for cities facing the highest climate risks. Examples include the construction of flood-resistant infrastructure in Mozambique, mangrove restoration in Cambodia and climate-resilient housing in Madagascar.

How do you view the role of the private sector in accelerating urban change?

The private sector is crucial. I see two key roles: driving private finance into housing; and scaling up existing housing solutions, alongside innovation for more affordable and adequate options.

UN-Habitat estimates that 2.8 billion people will need access to adequate housing by 2030. We need to build 96,000 new affordable and accessible housing units every day to meet the demand. And we need to invest $3-4trn [€2.75-3.6trn] annually. We are working with partners to unlock resources from the private sector, including through the World Urban Forum.

Further, we are collaborating with financial institutions to unlock capital for investment through the Cities Investment Facility, an initiative that connects sustainable urban development projects with public and private investors.

We must build on innovation by the private sector. From using local materials to mitigating the impacts of climate change and building low-cost housing, our programmes are benefiting from collaboration. That is why we have brought our Housing Matters campaign to MIPIM. Through this campaign, we have mobilised stakeholders from around the world to advocate for sustainable, inclusive and affordable housing solutions.

Financing Neighbourhood Regeneration In Europe: Cities And RE Path To Tackle The Housing Crisis Without Sacrificing Climate Goals

Organised by C40 Cities

Thursday, March 13 16.00-17.00 Harbour Room, Gare Maritime

What are the other main UN-Habitat developments?

We are preparing for major global events this year, including World Habitat Day on October 6 and World Cities Day on October 31. In May 2026, we will hold the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, where housing will be a central theme. Other major highlights include a new body focused on the global housing crisis: the Intergovernmental Expert Working Group

on Adequate Housing for All. The first meeting took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2024 and we are excited about the second meeting this year. Finally, I am excited that next year is the mid-term review of the New Urban Agenda following its adoption in 2016 at Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador. We are mobilising globally for this review and, when the UN secretary-general presents his global report to the UN general assembly, I expect climate and housing to be at the centre of it.

UN-Habitat’s

Anacláudia Rossbach

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METRO MAYOR: LIVERPOOL IS A BRAND LEADER

“WE’RE here to say that Liverpool is a global brand,” the Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, told MIPIM News. “In fact, out of the non-capital cities in the world — and in size, Liverpool’s not even in the top 100 — we are the 10th most known non-capital city. That’s the power to the brand and we need to be here to tell everybody that Liverpool is in the business of investment. It’s not just about our history. It’s about our future.”

Rotheram said Liverpool is the delivery arm of national government and will help realise the UK plan for growth. “In the UK, there are 12 areas now with devolution, but Liverpool City Region was one of the originals. That means that over these eight years we’ve been able to build a capacity to respond to what the market has on offer.”

Rotheram pointed to the recent announcement that Kyndryl, the largest IT infrastructure-support company in the world, will create up to 1,000 software engineering and AI-related jobs over the next three years.

“They’re coming because Liverpool has infrastructure that nowhere else has, and of course, a talent pipeline,” he said.

NSKRE’s Hata on mission to monitor latest market trends

NIPPON Steel Kowa Real Estate, the Japan-based general developer and real estate leasing business, is

at MIPIM to engage with investors and developers and to keep in touch with the European market. Suzuka Hata, deputy general manager, US business department, international business division, and vice-president and corporate secretary NSKRE US Corporation, told MIPIM News: “I believe that although we don’t have business here at this moment, it’s important to be here on a regular basis to stay relevant. Our company is now starting to think about expanding business in the EU. So that’s why we keep coming back to keep the EU on our radar, getting the updates, and staying within the circle.” Europe is often leading the way in terms of general trends, she said, pointing to a significant shift towards environmental concerns.

“If I go back to 2016 and 2017, I think personally there was more focus on the investment. But I feel that after COVID, there was a big change towards ESG, the environment and the development rather than the funds and the money side,” she said.

Hata said that coming to MIPIM enables the company to keep informed on the European real estate landscape. “It’s a fact-finding mission and we also like to introduce our findings back in Japan so that they will know what’s happening in the forefront,” she said. “It is a good time to touch base. People are open to talk and discuss. So it is a great opportunity for us even when we don’t have a business here — but maybe we will have in the future.”

Romania gets set for Shengen boost

WITH the first Romanian Pavilion at MIPIM, the country took centre stage during a session entitled The Emerging Investment Hub Of Central And Eastern Europe, featuring a broad range of developers and local-government officials.

Moderator Lavinia Ioniță Rasmussen, partner at legal practice NNDKP, said that 2024 had been a strong year for office take-up in the capital, Bucharest, recording its highest leasing figures since 2008. She predicted that Romania’s entry into the free movement Schengen area would boost the market.

“Romania is already an international hub in the CEE, with a very high quality of buildings and an environment that mixes history and modernity,” said Geo Margescu, CEO and co-founder, Forte Partners. “However, we need to address the perceived risk gap between Romania and the surrounding countries for investors. We also need to move on from developing buildings to developing communities.”

This was a point taken up by Ciprian Ciucu, mayor of Bucharest’s sixth sector, who said that efforts to improve the area’s public-realm spaces and services had uplifted the district of the capital but had also encouraged more development, putting further pressure on the city’s schools, healthcare and services.

“We need to create better-quality neighbourhoods, which means we need mixed-use schemes that combine different buildings, not just more homes,” he said.

Doron Klein, CEO of AFI Romania and Czech Republic, added the next phase of the company’s build-torent schemes in the country, in what is still a relatively nascent asset class in Romania, would focus on mixed use.

“The AFI Home platform has been very successful in Poland and the Czech Republic and we have a new scheme in Bucharest’s north called AFI Home North,” he said. “We are very confident that this will be a successful venture in Romania.”

Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram

Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate’s Suzuka Hata

Panelists at the Romania session

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TRICOT IN CANNES TO RE-CONNECT WITH PARTNERS

THE TEACHER Retirement Investment Company of Texas (TRICOT) is visiting MIPIM in order to meet as many investment partners as possible.

“For me, this is my first time coming to MIPIM,” said Eric Lang, senior managing director at TRICOT. “It is quite overwhelming, but it gives me an opportunity to meet partners in one place at one time. So, I’m able to have, say, eight meetings a day.”

Kimberly Carey, director at TRICOT, agreed. “We’ve been coming to MIPIM for over 10 years,” she said. “We always like to be able to see all of our partners in one place. It’s very convenient, very easy and we’re always looking for deals in the opportunistic value-add space. We’re happy to meet any and all partners.”

She added that the RE-Invest Summit is a particularly useful part of the MIPIM experience.

“RE-Invest is by far the most helpful part about the whole week. It’s just a room where we get to meet all of our peers and just hear what everyone is thinking and doing; what they’re worried or excited about.”

Panelists celebrate return of confidence in US retail sector

US RETAIL is seeing a resurgence only a few years after many thought it dead, said panelists at the Trends In US Real Estate And Capital Markets session at MIPIM.

Blackstone recently acquired private grocery-anchored ROIC.

“That was our first major investment in grocery anchor retail in quite a while,” said Michael Lascher, senior managing director and global head of real estate debt capital markets at Blackstone.

David Bouton, managing director, co-head North America CMBS and real estate finance at Citigroup, said the deal’s scale signified confidence. “That transaction was a very large one and the financing component was large — $2.8bn (€2.57bn). There is clearly a lot of demand from investors for that sort of product. That’s something we are beginning to see more

of now — essential grocery and neighbourhood-anchored retail.”

On the mall side, Kwasi Benneh, managing director, head of North America commercial real estate lending at Morgan Stanley, said the traditional mall shakeout has concluded.

“Now everybody has a very good sense of the malls that are going to thrive in all the different markets and so those malls are very financeable.”

“There will continue to be some malls on the fringes that will come up for financing here and there, but the jury is in. The malls that are thriving are doing better and are taking competition from some of the other malls. Those malls are being financed particularly efficiently in the CMBS market and so we are going to continue to see a lot of those come to market,” he said.

Curiosity is key to exploiting AI

A “CULTURE of curiosity” is essential if real estate investors are to reap the potential of AI and machine learning to capitalise on the technology’s abilities as a predictive aid, delegates at MIPIM heard during the session AI Lecture: Don’t Get Left Behind.

“That culture is important and it’s not always present in real estate,” said Alyce Ge, an investor at New York-based Camber Creek. “It depends on the firm, but our mantra is that culture eats strategy for lunch. In particular, if a result is counter-intuitive the important thing is to examine the reasons why [rather than dismiss it]. Winning hearts and minds can be the hardest part.”

Costanza Balboni Cestelli, head of data and innovation at Generali Real Estate, echoed that sentiment and reflected that people are often “extraordinarily tolerant” of judging errors by people compared with errors in technology.

“If the technology-generated answers don’t meet expectations, then

there can be a tendency for investment analysts simply to see them as wrong,” she said.

Both stressed the need for good data as the foundation for creating accurate predictive tools and said that this data was often scarce in a real estate sector where many deals are done privately. However, they emphasised that intelligent use of AI could free up investment analysts’ time, getting them away from report

writing to focus on genuine analysis. “It’s about getting the computers to do what they do well, so that asset managers can focus on complex investment challenges,” said Ge. “Often it comes down to the quality of the reporting. For example, at Camber Creek good quality and auditable data for multi-family leasing can help inform analysts about leasing velocity not a few months down the line but today.”

David Forti (left), co-chair and partner at Dechert; Citigroup’s David Bouton; Morgan Stanley’s Kwasi Benneh; and Blackstone’s Michael Lascher

Columbia University’s Josh Panknin (left); Generali Real Estate’s Costanza Balboni Cestelli; and Camber Creek’s Alyce Ge

TRICOT’s Eric Lang (left) and Kimberly Carey

MEGACITIES ARE THE WAY AHEAD

BOUTENKO SAYS

“CITIES ALL over the world want strategies for improvement, to grow the economy, reduce inequality, solve mobility problems, introduce more technology, improve lifestyles, or whatever — and to find the funding for it,” said Vladislav Boutenko, Boston Consulting Group senior partner and lead on cities and regions. Boston Consulting develops strategies to achieve these ends, and right now cities across the Middle East, Asia and the US have ambitious plans, Boutenko said, including completely new cities on greenfield sites.

“Existing cities are becoming obsolete. More people are going to be living in big cities,” he said. Combined with the need to tackle climate change, building anew could be the best option. “We are not reducing carbon emissions fast enough and not ready to face extreme climate events — extreme heat, rain in Riyadh, Jakarta facing going under the sea.” The answer, he thinks, is megacities, up to 500 km in radius, connected by fast and smart public transport systems and digital connections to satellite towns that allow people to live the kind of hybrid lives they want.

Aareal Bank targets living and data centres for new portfolio

AAREAL Bank is looking to debut in data-centre lending and add more living to its investment portfolio in 2025, as the company looks to provide finance broadly across asset classes and geographies.

Christof Winkelmann, member of the management board at Aareal Bank, said that he was positive about the outlook for hospitality, logistics and retail, while the German-based company remained “comfortable” with its office investments and is likely to maintain its holdings in the sector.

“It’s not unusual for the first quarter to be quiet for transactions, especially after a very busy Q4,” Winkelmann said of the current market. “That’s why MIPIM is so important, because it allows us to have the conversations about everyone’s activity expectations for the year ahead. My feeling is that confidence is

up on last year. I also sense that many in the industry feel the last year or two have been a little wasted and there is now more of

a ‘can do’ attitude.”

Winkelmann stressed that Aareal tends to look at asset-class allocation by region rather than having a global thematic view, because different countries may be in different investment cycles depending on their real estate requirements.

He remained confident on Grade A offices and older stock in good locations suitable for refurbishment, while the company continues to be active in hospitality in Europe, with a recent €200m loan for five Hoxton- and Mama Shelter-branded hotels in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Florence, Prague and Rome.

Looking to the German hospitality sector, which has lagged European counterparts, Winkelmann predicted steady growth this year, boosted by the backdrop of increased economic activity from the German government.

Japanese money has eyes on Europe

JAPANESE investors are looking to Europe to secure future growth and counter long-term challenges in their domestic market, the head of strategic planning at one of the country’s largest real estate firms has said.

Kanji Matsushita, executive officer for the corporate strategic planning division at Takenaka Corporation, said that there was an identifiable trend of Japanese firms investing in assets in Europe, particular those in the UK and Germany.

He said that European residential assets are proving a strong draw for his company as a relative “safe-bet” investment, as are certain parts of the office and hotel sectors. The need to look further afield, he said, was driven

in part by domestic demographic shifts in Japan.

“We’re not just looking domestically now,” Matsushita said. “We are diversifying our portfolio. This is becoming a trend in Japanese investing.

“Looking at the long term in the Japanese market we have an ageing population, and a population that is not going to grow so there’s going to be a shortage in the market.”

Matsushita said that specific sectors and sub-sectors of interest were the UK multi-family home or build-to-rent asset class, and residential assets in Germany.

As well as being an active investor in Asia, Europe and the US, Takenaka Corporation is engaged in a number of large development projects in its domestic market.

These include the 14,065 sq m mixed-use hotel and residential Kyoto Higashiyama project, and a series of major works at the Tokoha University Shizuoka Kusanagi Campus.

Boston Consulting Group’s Vladislav Boutenko

Aareal Bank’s Christof Winkelmann

Takenaka Corporation’s Kanji Matsushita

Geopolitics is ‘a wake-up call’ for all European investors

THREE major European investors admitted that geopolitics is reshaping the investment landscape across the continent, as conflict and policies from the US administration impact upon everything, from interest rates to Europe’s defence strategy.

Speaking at yesterday’s Global Investment Vision session, Sophie van Oosterom, CPP Investments’ global head of real estate, speculated that Asian and US investors may view real estate investment in Europe as riskier given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. But, she added, it also presents an opportunity for the continent to redefine its future.

“I don’t think we see it that way in Europe, but certainly US and Asian investors are asking those questions,” she said.

Beatrice Guedj, head of research and innovation at Swiss Life Asset Managers France, said that if a US-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine can

be achieved, it will provide more market stability. “But we know things have now changed,” she added. “It’s a wake-up call and it may mean a new Cold War… But you can’t make Europe great

again without making Germany great again, because it’s the first economy of all the countries in the EU. So the fact that the new German administration is looking to be more flexible with its

economic rules is encouraging.” In a wide-ranging conversation about the myriad factors influencing real estate investment, including the interest-rate environment and asset classes that have become popular as macro factors such as demographics, de-globalisation and digitalisation become more dominant, the panel was also quizzed about the increasing attractiveness of operational real estate.

Cornel Widmer, global head of real estate at Zurich Insurance, said that the company was now more likely to invest in operational-intensive asset classes such as hotels, but that it would not drive the operational side itself. “We want to be on the upside of this, but we would not own operational businesses. However, we would partner with an operator,” he said. Guedj also insisted that sustainability remained firmly on the investment agenda, not simply in terms of ensuring that assets do not become stranded in the future but also because climate change means that buildings could also be under physical threat.

RICS seeks new skills for a new world

JUSTIN Young, CEO of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is at MIPIM to reconnect with the global membership, take the temperature of the market and address key prioities. “We need to attract different skills into the profession,” he said. “We’ll always need valuers and commercial brokers but, increasingly, we also need expertise in big data and sustainability. So we’re exploring how we create pathways from educational establishments into the industry.”

Young took over as CEO in 2023 and has been transforming the organisation. A priority has been

to promote the benefits of ‘RICS Matrics’, an early-career community designed to support students, apprentices, trainees and newly qualified professionals.

He has also been seeking to grow RICS outside the UK. “We’ve gone past 100,000 members in the UK, but we also have 40,000 members in the rest of the world.

We’re seeing significant growth in Asia, and also European markets like Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain,” he said.

A key element for RICS’ success outside the UK has been its willingness to devolve some control.

“It makes sense to allow different

markets to have greater autonomy, because they know their industries,”

Young added. “It’s a kind of ‘freedom within a framework’ model.”

Young said the body also acts as a thought leader and a partner to other stakeholders.

“For example, we help governments put regulations in place that improve transparency and ultimately trigger inward investment,” he said.

In terms of thought leadership, Young said the key trend he is observing at MIPIM is the pace of technological change, “which leads us back round to the issue of skills”.

Zurich Insurance’s Cornel Widmer (left), Swiss Life Asset Managers’ Beatrice Guedj, CPP Investments’ Sophie van Oosterom and moderator Newmark’s Tony Gibson

RICS’ Justin Young

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EGYPT’S NEW CAPITAL BLOOMS IN THE DESERT

EGYPT’s new capital city is the first to be owned and run by a private company, according to Khaled Abbas, chairman and CEO of the firm, Administrative Capital for Urban Development. It’s also probably the first not to have a name, for the moment simply being “New Capital”.

The fact it hasn’t yet been officially named is an indicator of the speed of development of the new city — built from scratch in the desert 50 kilometres east of Cairo and 50 kilometres from the Suez Canal.

The government and parliament already operate from the new capital, with the presidential office to follow soon, and it has hosted the recent Arab summit on Palestine and other international forums.

“At the moment 15,000 people live in the city,” Abbas said. “By the end of 2025 the population will be 70-80,000. In three years it will be half a million.”

The company is now starting stage two of the masterplan and looking for international investors. The capital is set to be the first sustainable city in Egypt, with cloud-based smart infrastructure and ambitious plans for desalination plants to supply its water and district cooling systems.

Oman’s ambitious Vision 2040 plan is gathering momentum

OMAN is experiencing a new era, five years into its Vision 2040 masterplan, with major schemes in development and more projects seeking international investment, said Omani housing and urban planning minister, His Excellency, Dr Khalfan Al Shueili.

Speaking at the Oman Pavilion at MIPIM, he stressed that the country was showcasing active developments and not just concepts, as construction of new city districts gathers pace and begins to reshape the Middle Eastern country. Furthest developed are Al Khuwair Downtown, a major mixed-use development, the sustainable and lifestyle-oriented Sultan Haitham City, and the new mixed-use, luxury-focused Muscat district, A’ Thuraya City. Further masterplans for major city projects are also in the pipeline and Al Shueili said that Oman’s

stable politics and well-established laws meant that it was a country where investors could deploy capital with confidence.

“Al Khuwair Downtown represents an investment of around $5bn (€4.6bn) across 2 million sq m and will eventually be home to 65,000 people, along with offices and 2,000 hotel rooms, reflecting our ambition to diversify economically but also with environmental resilience and sustainability,” he said. While Oman’s expanding population and youthful demographic meant that there would be 300,000 new residential units constructed within the next 20 years and as many as 900,000 new units in the longer term, the minister stressed that Oman’s development plans also embraced the environment.

“We have 3,000km of coastline and all our projects emphasise protection of nature, environmental di-

versity and cultural authenticity,” he said. “We want to evolve differently. Oman is the essence of Arabia.”

KAFD: evolution of a business powerhouse

KING Abdullah Financial District Development (KAFD) is at MIPIM for the first time as part of Invest Saudi, showcasing its role as Saudi Arabia’s business district and its move towards a mixed-use, work, live and play location.

Located in the heart of capital Riyadh, KAFD features offices, premium residences, retail hubs and cultural attractions. Spanning 1.6 million sq m with 95 buildings by 25 architectural firms, KAFD has been dubbed “the Kingdom’s first vertical-city solution” and also the world’s largest LEED platinum-certified business and lifestyle district. Further development of another phase will focus on residential, retail and leisure amenities, as KAFD evolves into a district where its 20,000 daily workers can also live within walking distance of their offices.

“KAFD is Saudi Arabia’s econom-

ic engine, and we want to make it a place where people work 8am5pm and then socialise from 5pm to midnight,” KAFD chief market-

ing and experience officer Mazroua Al-Mazroua said. “We already have over 70 multinational companies working in KAFD and there is an opportunity for international investors to be involved in our next phase of development.

As a result, Al-Mazroua described it as a “no-brainer” to attend MIPIM this year, while he added that the KAFD’s three international hotels would be supplemented by six more and branded residences, as more visitors travel to Saudi Arabia.

“The important next stage is to develop residences for the workers so they can use the metro or walk to their office in 15 or 20 minutes and get away from the commute by car,” he said. “With phase one fully developed, I really believe there is nowhere like King Abdullah Financial District Development in the whole world.”

Capital

Urban Development’s Khaled Abbas

His Excellency Dr Khalfan Al Shueili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Oman

KAFD’s Mazroua Al-Mazroua

THE SAILS

This project focused on Osaka's potential as a municipality. It attracted the Four Seasons, an internationally competitive luxury hotel, and contributed to the city by fostering a lively area atmosphere through art and landscape planning. Numerous works of art adorn the building, based on the concept of “Journey and Art." The exterior design is reminiscent of the sails of a yacht, and its integrated, high-rise residence+hotel design gives the building an overwhelming presence as a new landmark for Osaka, which is known as a "city of water."

One Dojima Project / Osaka. Japan Project team

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd.

Hotel Properties Limited

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD

TAKENAKA CORPORATION

STUDIO PIET BOON

Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka Photographer : Seet, Ken

Taking photos without credit：photo by Nacása & Partners Inc.

UK can compete with world in life sciences

REGIONS in the UK need to work together to compete for investment from the global life-sciences sector rather than compete with each other.

That was the message that Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority delivered at a panel event on life-science investment at MIPIM on Tuesday.

“Our city region is the largest biomedical manufacturing cluster in Europe,” he said. “So we have to get over [the idea] that it’s not just London or it’s not just in Oxford and Cambridge. It’s not just in other areas in Scotland. It’s all over the country. Life sciences is such an important sector to the UK as a whole.

Instead, the UK has now recognised that it is in competition with

places including Boston and New York. “It can’t be in just one place [in the UK] because we’re competing on a global basis,” he said.

“Some of those companies in Boston or New York are looking to [set up] their headquarters in the UK. What we need to do is demonstrate to them that, whether it’s your place or my place, the UK is the right place for them so that the UK wins that particular investment opportunity.”

He added: “But I can tell you that in our region we have got a massive opportunity for investment given that our ecosystem is second to none. We have some big infrastructure advantages. We’ve invested in the fastest [internet] speeds in the country and that connects up to what is currently the most industrial computer in the country.”

Companies must evolve to win battle for talent

AS THE battle for talent intensifies, businesses must keep up with the demand for change, especially when it comes to a culture that enables retention, according to panelists at a session on the subject at MIPIM on Tuesday.

“When we talk about the battle for talent we need to talk about the battle for culture,” said Ronen Journo, head of European Management Services at Hines Europe. “If an organisation doesn’t evolve its culture from process and profit then you will lose the battle,” he said.

Giving her perspective for the younger generations, Federica Sanchez, architect and neuroscience researcher at Lombardini22, said that millennials and gen-Z employees want more personal recognition as they prioritise their work/life balance to stop them

Navigating the road to decarbonisation

HOW CITIES can effectively plan and implement decarbonisation roadmaps was the theme of a session on Tuesday on the Road To Zero Stage. Plan Your Transition To Zero Carbon: Cities’ Decarbonisation Roadmaps As Guidance brought together a panel that featured insights from a political, investment and development perspective.

Brigit Gerritse, general director, Dutch Green Building Council, said she did not feel it was necessary any longer to explain the importance of

ESG to investors and the real estate industry, “but we can help the municipalities and policy makers to have a vision for their city”.

Victoria Burrows, strategic partnerships and insights, Kompas, spoke about addressing the challenge of the costs and price point. “That’s where venture capital comes in. First of all we need that proven tech, second is scaling, and third is cost competitiveness. And in order to do that we need partnerships.”

Rui Moreira, Mayor of Porto, outlined the Portugese city’s approach

to implementing its roadmap, and stressed the importance of citizens seeing the benefits of decarbonisation and how measures can have a positive effect not just on the planet

moving on. “It’s important how you feel and how you are seen in a company. I’ve been here five years now and I feel valued.”

Discussing whether business leaders needed real estate expertise the panel said that having the right transferable skills was more important, especially in the case of business transformation and development. “The job description of today is not going to be the one of tomorrow so you need a wide skillset and the ability to adapt,” said Sabine Schaffer, co-founder and CEO Europe of Pro-invest Group. Sanchez agreed: “If you are curious and passionate you will learn anything,” she said. Journo said that his personal experience was similar. “I came into Hines and you can argue that I don’t fit the mould but the firm took a bet on my transferable skills as being valuable enough.”

but on their own day-to-day lives. Rob McNicol of the City of London Corporation talked about how a decarbonisation policy works for London’s financial district, and Marika Rosa of Ekodoma explained the City of Riga’s sustainable energy and climate-action plan.

Chantal Clavier, partner, Heidrick & Struggles (left); Hines Europe’s Ronen Journo; Lombardini22’s Federica Sanchez; Proinvest Group’s Sabine Schaffer; and Justin Young, CEO, RICS

On the panel: Steijn Ribbens, chief investment officer, Kadans Science Partner (left); Dr Alexander Nuyken, EMEA head of life science markets, JLL SE; Steve Rotheram, mayor, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; and moderator Innovation Corridor’s Jackie Sadek

Moderator WBCSD ‘s Mert Ogut (left); Kompas VC’s Victoria Burrows; Dutch Green Building Council’s Brigit Gerritse; City of London’s Rob McNicol; Mayor of Porto Rui Moreira and Ekodoma’s Marika Rosa

Thursday 13 March

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Togetherness proves profitable for Greater Porto partnership

CITIES in close proximity to each other are often deeply competitive. But a role model for the benefits of neighbourly collaboration is Greater Porto, the umbrella brand for three thriving municipalities in the north of Portugal: Porto, Gaia and Matosinhos.

“We are all part of the same region and we all want investment,” explained Pedro Baganha, city councillor for urban planning, public space and housing for Porto. “But we realised that, independently, we were too small to get noticed. So our mayors decided it made sense to come together. We did that for the first time at MIPIM three years ago and our stand has been expanding ever since.”

Marta Pontes, Matosinhos’ councillor for economy, commerce,

tourism and internationalisation, said the partners have worked hard to align their mindset and message.

“Even though we have different essences, we promote the region as one,” she added. “There is a common thread that makes the partnership very organic.”

Greater Porto has a general need for investment in key areas, including housing, offices and logistics, said António Miguel Castro, chairman of Gaiurb, the body responsible for planning, social housing and rehabilitation in Gaia: “I think one of the main things we have achieved is working out how to find a way to appeal to private investors.”

A historic trading post, the Porto region has emerged as a vibrant knowledge hub. As a result, the partners are keen to embrace innovators, entre

preneurs and sustainability-focused business. Key developments include a new high-speed train that will run through all three cities.

Also at MIPIM this week is Porto mayor Rui Moreira. Echoing the Greater Porto team, he is in Cannes to “invite private investors to look into our reality”. This approach has proved successful, he

added, especially in terms of accommodation for students: “We had a shortage of housing and we found private investors.”

Moreira said a key priority is to prevent a brain drain of Porto’s emerging talent: “We have a young population with highly educated engineers. A lot of them were looking for jobs outside our region, so we decided to invite the companies that are employing them to come to Porto.”

In addition to meeting investors, Moreira said he is also keen to connect with “other city mayors that face similar challenges to Porto”.

Team Porto: Matosinhos’ Marta Pontes (left), Gaia’s António Miguel Castro and Porto’s Pedro Baganha

Anticipez le monde de demain

OFFICE OF THE FUTURE WILL BE

‘HUMAN-CENTRED’

“QUALITY is the key” to bringing professionals back to physical workspaces after years of challenges for office owners, a noted Dutch architect specialising in the sector has said. Ben van Berkel, founder of Amsterdam-based UNStudio, is in Cannes to meet with fellow professionals with an interest in the office sector. Discussing the challenges of attracting talent back to workplaces after the pandemic, van Berkel said that the “human-centred approach” to office design was essential in the modern era. He added that the current climate, which is still marked by post-pandemic caution in both the office sector and the wider real estate industry, is a chance for owners and designers to take stock and reflect on emerging trends: “In a period of change like this, it’s a time to rethink things. But there is optimism again.”

UNStudio is currently engaged with a number of urban projects, including the mixed-use STH BNK scheme in Melbourne and the Chamartín Station masterplan in Madrid, as well as developments in Dubai and Frankfurt. Last September the UNStudios-designed EZ Parque da Cidade was completed in São Paulo.

Malaga kicks off ambition for world-class football stadium

THE CITY of Malaga wants a world-class stadium for a World Cup. Enlarging the Spanish city’s existing football stadium for the 2030 World Cup is one of four projects for which the city is seeking investors at this year’s MIPIM.

According to Cristian García-Espina Adank of the City of Malaga’s department for inward foreign investment, the project also includes the refurbishment of the immediate neighbourhood for a quarter-final or semi-final match that will have the eyes of world on it. The city is also looking for investors for a new auditorium for classical music and other concerts; partners for a housing development in the Bella Vista area; and collaborators for the development of affordable housing in various areas around the city.

In 20 years, Malaga has doubled in

size to a population of over 600,000 (over one million in the conurbation). But much of this growth has been fuelled by sun-seeking migrants from northern Europe, particularly from the UK, attracted by Malaga’s climate, lower cost of living and ease of access, with 15 to 20 flights a day to Britain alone. But this has come at a cost of added pressure on housing opportunities for local people, particularly the less well-off and young people. That pressure continues, despite the UK’s exit from the EU.

Malaga has been coming to MIPIM since 2015 and the event has been central to the city finding investors to continue its growth.

“For us, MIPIM has been win-win. I would say it’s good for any medium-sized European city, which often have the same issues with housing,” García-Espina Adank said.

Best practice from net-zero heroes

TRANSPARENCY, standard measurement and innovation emerged as the critical issues for dealing with the carbon footprint of the building and construction industry at Tuesday’s conference, Global Stocktake: Where Are We On The Road To Zero?

Transparency was stressed by Katie Stewart, City of London Corporation’s executive director, environment. The Corporation had high standards, she said, but also provided guidance, including a Heritage retrofit tool-kit, and encouraged meetings with developers at the earliest possible stage.

“Planners have to be more collaborative,” she added. “We aim to be supportive, flexible and market-facing. In the past, many planning authorities have been too dogmatic: retrofit only rather than retrofit first. The City is a big global player so we understand the need for growth. But growth and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. It’s all about measurement.”

Frank Hovorka, sustainability chair

of RICS in France, outlined developments in measuring the climate impact of buildings. “Last July, there was a great step forward in methodology, which means we can give an

idea of a building’s carbon emissions over the next 50 years,” he said. One of the biggest problems is the embodied carbon in construction materials such as cement, steel and glass. Dr Mubarik Chowdhry, direc-

tor and head of the global innovation hub at Heidelberg Materials, pointed to his company’s carbon-capture and storage cement plant at Brevik in Norway, “the only at-scale CCS cement plant in the world”.

With cement accounting for 8% of global emissions, this approach would have a huge impact if it were rolled out over all building projects, he added.

UNStudio’s Ben van Berkel

City of Malaga’s Cristian García-Espina Adank

City of London Corporation’s Katie Stewart

Heidelberg Materials’ Mubarik Chowhdhry

HYBRID HOTELS OFFERING NEW WAYS TO WORK

CHANGING work patterns accelerated by the pandemic present a big opportunity for the hospitality industry.

Stephane Bensimon, chief executive of multinational coworking space provider Wojo, said the breakdown of the traditional office model was an opening for hotel owners looking to fill redundant space.

Addressing delegates at the Hybrid Hospitality: Multi-Destination Assets And Evolving Institutional Appetite session on Tuesday, Bensimon said there was a “big conversation” going on in the hotel industry about how to adapt to new working patterns. One possible solution, he said, was for hoteliers to adapt space to incorporate coworking facilities. He said: “It’s a way for hotel owners to optimise their square metres. We are in a big transformation phase. After working from home there was ‘working from anywhere’. Everybody is looking for optimisation.”

Bensimon was speaking alongside B&B Hotels chief sustainability officer Sophie Donabedian, who discussed the French company’s vision to deliver hospitality sites that are more “embedded in their environments and ecosystems”.

Experts explore opportunities across Africa’s many markets

AFRICA is rich with opportunities for real estate investment and development, a panel of experts agreed on Tuesday.

Property professionals with an interest in African real estate gathered at MIPIM to discuss the wide range of openings the continent offers across various sectors.

The event, African Real Estate — Navigating Sustainability And Urbanisation, attracted some of the leading voices on the continent’s real estate industry, who addressed a packed Geo Focus Stage.

Nawale Saoud, JLL’s director of project & development services for North & West Africa, said: “Africa is big, Africa is diverse and Africa is rich ... in terms of natural resources and human resources”. The continent, she explained, had

a land mass double that of Russia, with “54 countries speaking more than 2,000 languages”.

Previous speaker, Somaya Joshua from the South African commercial property finance division of

the Absa Corporate and Investment Bank, said she could see “pronounced opportunities outside of south-African regions, particularly in East Africa”.

“Outside of South Africa we are seeing the emergence of new opportunities,” she said, citing high demand for sectors including student housing and other socially impactful real estate classes.

Joining Joshua and Saoud on the panel were Khaled Abbas, chairman & managing director of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development, which is developing the New Administrative Capital masterplan for Egypt, and Ismail Ersahin, chief executive and executive director of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.

Brazil highlights its diverse prospects

AN ORGANISATION dedicated to connecting the large and diverse Brazilian real estate industry with the world is in Cannes to promote the many opportunities the country offers to the markets.

The president of COFECI-CRECI, Brazil’s regulatory body for real estate professionals, is at MIPIM leading a delegation of property companies representing the country’s vast diversity of regional investment possibilities.

João Teodoro da Silva said that Brazil is “not a country, it’s a continent”, highlighting its huge landmass and great geographical variety.

“It’s a huge country and there are a lot of opportunities for investment particularly because of its diversity.

“Each region has its own characteristics. The climate varies and so does the population. We have the beaches, the Amazon — and the south of the country has the big economic cities.”

Da Silva was joined by Heitor Kuser, chief executive of CIMI360, a

major conference dedicated to the Brazilian real estate market, partnered with MIPIM.

Among the major developments being showcased at the COFECI-CRECI stand is the mixeduse Maraey project 45km from Rio De Janeiro.

The €3bn resort development, which is 4km from Marica Airport, will deliver three luxury

hotels capable of hosting 500,000 guests per year, 8,000 residential units, a golf course, a hospital, a sports club and a hospitality business school, with 8km of beaches and 12km of lagoon shores.

The Maraey project, at the foot of the Atlantic-facing Maricá mountain range, is being called one of the biggest, most transformative of its kind anywhere in the world.

Delegates at the Hybrid Hospitality event

Absa Corporate and Investment Bank’s Somaya Joshua

COFECI-CRECI’s João Teodoro da Silva (left), and CIMI360’s Heitor Kuser

STUREKVARTERET PROJECT IS ON TRACK FOR 2027

SWEDISH developer

TAM Group is at MIPIM to promote its Sturekvarteret project in Stockholm, which it is undertaking on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Located in the centre of the city, the project involves the careful redevelopment of 17 heritage assets, totalling 110,000 sq m.

According to Carl Johansson, chief operations officer at TAM Group, the ground-floor spaces will be occupied by premium luxury retailers, while the upper floors are being converted into state-of-the-art offices. A new connection to the metro system is also being created.

“It’s an amazing project,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest blocks in central Stockholm, so it has this huge footprint. The oldest building is from 1886 and the newest is from 1987. I think it will make a great contribution to the city.”

The project has been under construction for two years and is on track to complete in the spring of 2027. Despite that, 50% of the retail units and almost half of the offices have already been let.

Real estate must stop switching off in discussions about energy

THE INVEST Newcastle pavilion hosted the official launch of engineering consultancy Rolton’s white paper ‘Powering the 2035 Industrial and Data-driven Revolution’.

The presentation was followed by an expert panel discussion on how the evolving energy requirements of major projects such as data centres, advanced-manufacturing hubs and the communities built around them call for a new approach to power generation and distribution. The paper argues that for too long, the world of energy and infrastructure has been leading the conversation on macro-energy strategy, with real estate dealing with the consequences. The report says real estate has largely ignored energy and running costs because it was not significant enough to be of concern and calls for the real estate world to get involved.

“These worlds of energy, infrastructure and real estate must come together to create an environment where there are productive conversations about the investment required,” Peter Rolton, chairman, Rolton said. “There is opportunity to bring generation into our real estate portfolios, take responsibility for our own power and support the development of decentralised infrastructure. Energy strategy needs to be part of the conversation at the early stages with real estate as part of the solution.”

Joining Rolton on the panel to give their perspectives on the issue, were: Pam Smith, chief executive at Newcastle City Council; Helen Gould, head of capital investment, Europe at Office for Investment; and Guy Currey, head of inward investment at North East Combined Authority.

The Hive is a future-proof ecosystem

THE TEAM behind Amsterdam’s The Hive project are at MIPIM showcasing the sustainable mixed-use development in the city’s Nieuw-West.

The project, from developers ION and Green Real Estate, and designed by architect OZ, includes 183 energy-positive apartments and a 1,600 sq m urban climate forest for biodiversity and natural cooling.

It also features a 4,000 sq m cultural hub for creative entrepreneurs and a 1,000 sq m healthcare centre. Construction starts in May 2025 with completion scheduled for early 2027.

“Unlike traditional residential projects, The Hive is a full-scale sustainable ecosystem — it combines energy-positive housing, urban biodiversity and a cultural and healthcare hub, making it a future-proof urban model,” said Juul Derks, head of investments, Green Real Estate.

John Bosch, architect partner at

OZ, said: “Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword anymore — it’s a business necessity. But beyond that, we’re seeing a shift towards community-centric developments and the rise of AI-driven real estate solutions.”

Bosch added that MIPIM provides

an opportunity to share the philosophy behind The Hive. “MIPIM is the perfect stage for us to showcase The Hive. We’re here to connect with like-minded visionaries and explore new collaborations that push the industry forward,” he said.

TAM Group’s Carl Johansson (left) and Magnus Lundgren

Rolton’s Peter Rolton

Kristof Vanfleteren (left), CEO, Amavi Capital; John Bosch, OZ; and Green Real Estate’s Juul Derks

PROXIMITY TO POWER KEY FOR DATA CENTRES

ACCESS to a source of power is now the most important factor for data-centre sites, according to Douglas Loewe, CEO of Kao Data, speaking at Tuesday’s panel session on data-centre investment.

“Historically, it was having those data centres connected to the internet,” he said. “But lately, without a doubt, it’s proximity to power — renewable power — and having planning permission and everything lined up to deliver that power in a short-term timeframe.”

Indeed, Loewe stressed that time is critical: “If you’re looking at an investment thesis [and the timeframe] is 2030 or 2031, that’s just too far out. An ideal data-centre site is a location that’s going to have power in 2025, 2026 or 2027. That’s the key investment hurdle to clear.”

Alex Burgoyne, global head of data centre valuations at Knight Frank, agreed, although he added that finding sites with ready access to power is increasingly difficult: “It’s very complex in European countries, primarily due to supply deficiencies.”

However, Burgoyne said that it was well worth making the effort, as data centres perform exceptionally well from an investment perspective.

Summit confirms Norway still one of Europe’s safest havens

BY ITS own standards, Norway has endured a period of political instability in recent years. But leading local advocates used the Oslo Investor Summit to argue that the wealthy Nordic country is undoubtedly more ‘safe haven’ than ‘banana republic’.

Kicking off the case for the defence was Tone Tellevik Dahl, CEO of the Norwegian Property Federation, who said recent changes in political leadership have allowed the country and its capital to reassert their historic strengths, namely “broad political agreement, a consensus-driven system and strong institutions”.

Singling out reasons why Norway is an attractive target for real estate investors, she said it enjoys “stable demand, transparent regulations, sustainability and ESG-friendly policies, and no discriminatory taxes or barriers on foreign investment”.

Dahl handed the baton to Herman Følling Ness of real estate advisor

Malling & Co, who reiterated that Norway offers investors a “strong and stable economy”, with opportunities stretching from Oslo to the westcoast cities of Bergen and Stavanger. Drilling down into the Greater Oslo story, Ness said there had been 85 transactions worth €3.27bn in 2024, with office, residential and logistics the key areas of activity.

In terms of future opportunities, he added that a number of distressed properties are coming to market, including the Telegrafen Oslo building. More intriguing are opportunities related to the 460,000 sq m Oslo Harbour Filipstad development and the 38,000 sq m Victoria Terrasse building. The latter is the historic home of the foreign affairs ministry. Ness called it “a fantastic opportunity — a gem like no other”. The Oslo Summit was rounded out by Elin Mack Løvdal, a partner at law firm Haavind, who provided insights into the nuances of Nor-

wegian real estate transactions. The Summit was moderated by Stig Lorentz Bech, chairman of the board of Norsk Eiendom.

Stockholm’s green mission is possible

LAST year, it had a MIPIM stand made of waste. This year, the City of Stockholm has a stand made almost entirely from recycled paper — including paper chairs — as it looks to highlight sustainability in its region.

“Our main theme is to invest in a sustainable future,” said Staffan Ingvarsson, CEO of Stockholm Business Region.

A number of sustainable innovations are on display on the city’s stand this week, including the Stockholm Wood City in Sickla.

The world’s largest urban wooden construction project, which comprises more than 250,000 sq m, will include 7,000 office spaces and 2,000 apartments. Construction began last year, with the first

two buildings completed this year. It is due to open in 2027/28.

“Stockholm Wood City is an example of the direction the Swedish construction market is moving in,” Ingvarsson said. He added that it also provided a good example of the benefits of sustainable building, demonstrating that “it is possible to combine economic growth with taking care of our future”.

For Ingvarsson, MIPIM offers a chance to both “inspire and be inspired”. He added: “This is the place to be to meet the European and international real estate industry. It’s a great market.”

And he called for others to follow Stockholm’s sustainability lead: “There’s a great opportunity for Europe as a whole to showcase that we can build sustainably.”

Kao Data’s Douglas Loewe

Norwegian Property Federation’s Tone Tellevik Dahl

Stockholm Business Region’s Staffan Ingvarsson

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New Vault blockchain passport offers ‘absolute trust and truth’

ITALIAN

tech entrepreneur

Traent is at MIPIM to present Vault, a blockchain-based real estate passport that has the potential to revolutionise property transactions. After a series of meetings this week, the firm is reporting positive feedback. Based on years of intense R&D involving Italian universities, Traent CEO and co-founder Federico d’Annunzio said his company’s tech can unlock value for investors, developers and asset managers by facilitating a transparent and efficient real estate market.

“There has been a lot of hype around blockchain but, until now, it has never realised its promise. So we started from scratch to create an architecture that could deliver a true industrial application. The end result is a solution that can be used by any industry that is data-driven and value-driven — but

for now our focus is real estate.”

D’Annunzio said Traent has found a way to lean into blockchain’s strengths — the encrypted and immutable storage of data — while avoiding issues such as lack of scalability, compromised privacy and limited automation.

D’Annunzio said: “In the real estate industry, you have a lot of players, such as investors, insurers, customers, developers, constructors, governments and the supply chain. Each of these needs a different set of information, so you create one blockchain per project or asset. All of these blockchains have their own smart contracts and workflows, so you can personalise this process. In essence, it is a flexible system that allows you to distribute information how you want, with absolute trust and truth.”

Vault is a customised solution cre-

ated for the real estate sector, added managing director Pierpaolo Franco. “At one level, it is not so different to other real estate passports, but the difference is that it is on blockchain, which means the data is irreversible and immutable — a kind of digital embodiment. The potential is really infinite because it is fast, scalable,

trustworthy, similar in cost to a cloud system and has no limits to the process and the data that we put on it.”

The bottom line is that any real estate asset becomes measurable in a trusted way, d’Annunzio said. Once AI is introduced into the mix, it becomes possible to ascribe reliable real-time value to an asset. Ultimately, he believes Traent’s tech can also transform securitisation, an issue addressed by Dr Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank and Italian Prime Minister, in his MIPIM keynote.

Traent’s Federico d’Annunzio (left) and Pierpaolo Franco

SAVE THE

25 JUNE 2025 - MEDEF

FDI CONTROL FORUM 3rd EDITION

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Control Forum is excited to announce it is returning for a third edition on 25 June 2025 in the heart of Paris at MEDEF, 55, avenue Bosquet. Hosted in partnership with academic institutions and market leaders, the FDI Control Forum is the first conference of its kind in France. Regulatory ex perts and Parliamentary Members from France, the European Union, the UK and USA will discuss the latest trends and developments in FDI Control. Together with over 40 highly skilled academics and professionals including lawyers, investment bankers, auditors, strategy consultants, lobbyists and economic intelligence specialists, the FDI Control Forum offers a unique op portunity to participate in this dynamic area.

Conducted under the “Chatham House Rule”, the FDI Control Forum comprises a plenary session with domestic and international regulators followed by a series of high level workshops developed and run by FDI experts across a variety of professional backgrounds. These workshops offer a unique opportunity to engage with key players from France, Germany, the European Union, the UK and USA covering geopolitics, economy, strategy, finance and law, providing an in-depth understanding of the latest developments and trends in global FDI control.

German rebound gathers pace as recalibration pays dividends

THIS year will be more positive for the German real estate market, with confidence returning and investors committed to the long-term, according to panellists at German Real Estate Market & Capital: Setting For Rebound?

“We’re pretty positive,” said Farrah Brown, head of debt capital markets, EU and APAC at Nuveen Real Estate. “It’s a time to be more disciplined, but have conviction.”

Sascha Klaus, CEO of Berlin Hyp, said the recalibration of the German market in 2024 has resulted in a more positive outlook for 2025. “Prices are going up, especially on the residential side,” he said. “Germany is in big need of housing. For very good offices, prices have bottomed out and are rising again and rents are rising in every big city. Logistics is strong, although maybe a bit slower.”

Investors continue to find real estate attractive, agreed Nicole Poetsch, head of north and central Europe and co-head of investment Europe at PIMCO Prime Real Estate. “They have always liked real estate as an asset class and will continue to do so. We have seen valuations bottom out and to increase slowly again.” However, she warned that there was still caution in the market: “It’s about being very selective, agile and strategic in choosing regions, sectors and individual assets.”

Victor Stoltenburg, global head of investments at Deka Immobilien Investment, said investors still believe in real estate. “Our clients see real estate as a long-term investment and they believe in the return.”

Also on the panel were CTP Invest Germany’s Timo Hielscher and JLL’s Honoré Achille Simo.

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JLL’s Honoré Achille Simo

Deka Immobilien Investment’s Victor Stoltenburg

CTP Invest Germany’s Timo Hielscher

PIMCO Prime Real Estate’s Nicole Poetsch

Berlin Hyp’s Sascha Klaus

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Investing in the Nordics

SUSTAINED FOCUS ON THE TRANSACTION MARKET IN THE NORDICS DURING BUSINESS ARENA STOCKHOLM 2025

After successfully introducing the Transaction Stage at Business Arena Stockholm 2024, we continue to develop and deepen our focus on the transaction market in the Nordics. We highlight investments in office, residential, public sector properties, and logistics/industrial.

To strengthen networking opportunities, we are organizing two investor lunches in conjunction with the Transaction Stage. Both lunches are exclusive and aimed at invited attendes, offering a unique opportunity for in-depth discussions and valuable industry connections.

For more information contact:

Jimmy B. Lehtinen

jimmy.b.lehtinen@bonniernews.se

+46 702-589 07 02

businessarena.nu/stockholm

17-18 SEPTEMBER 2025 | STOCKHOLM WATERFRONT CONGRESS CENTRE

Southampton sets its sights on Renaissance Vision

THE UK city of Southampton is at MIPIM to present ‘Renaissance Vision’, its long-term development plan launched just ahead of the market.

The initiative seeks to position Southampton as one of the UK’s most appealing investment opportunities. Developed in partnership with the Southampton Renaissance Board and a consortium led by consultancy Prior + Partners, Renaissance Vision sets the scene for a thriving future built around six overarching themes: connected, destination, green, innovation, neighbourhoods and waterfront.

Presenting the programme to MIPIM delegates, councillor Lorna Fielker, leader of Southampton City Council, said the strength of Renaissance Vision is that it has brought several key stakeholders into alignment. “We’ve got all these really great institutions in Southampton — universities, a football club, a teaching hospital, brilliant businesses — but everybody was doing stuff in isolation and that led to some confusion about what Southampton stands for. So we came up with Renaissance Vision as a place where we could come together, build trust and share ideas about what we

want to do.”

Sharing the stage with Fielker was Prior + Partners’ chief executive of place-making, Jason Prior, who outlined some of Southampton’s goals: “One of the drivers of the plan is to make sure that there are diverse opportunities. So the kind of things we are looking at include entertainment and the creation of an innovation cluster near the train station. We also have huge opportunities on our waterfront and are looking at ways to bring passengers from the port into the city centre. There’s also a huge opportunity around deepening and improving our residential offering to attract new people.” Southampton is also optimistic that it will be a net beneficiary of the UK government’s devolution priority programme. Southampton, Portsmouth, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have submitted an application to be part of the programme, which would mean a new Mayoral Combined Authority for the region. “Bringing down that power and money to a local level would be a game-changer,” Fielker said, “particularly around transport.”

Blake Morgan’s John Parkinson (moderater, left); Southampton Council leader Lorna Fielker; and Prior + Partners’ Jason Prior

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The return-to-office trend is bolstered by occupiers and investors — and employers have been proactive in encouraging people back to work

London icon 22 Bishopsgate is now fully let after meeting occupier requirements

Making the office work

Occupiers and investors are driving a “return to office” trend, which is set to see an uptick in both take-up and capital markets activity, according to Andrew Angeli, global head of real estate research & strategy at Zurich Insurance.

“More employers have been taking an ‘interventionist’ approach with their workforce,” he says. “Five years after the pandemic, employers are a lot clearer on what the future looks like, and much more comfortable with telling their employees that they want them in the office. That’s good for cities, it’s good for transit networks and good for business continuity.”

In line with this trend, Angeli thinks that investors will take a constructive stance towards the sector in 2025.

“I think investors understand the dynamics around offices today much better than they did five years ago. They are much better at taking a view on the medium-term prospects for the sector, which will drive greater office transactions in 2025 than we have seen in the past couple of years

— bearing in mind that the last two years have been really tough for the sector,” he says.

Encouraging signs

Global investment company abrdn recently upgraded its house view on European real estate for the third successive quarter, with the case for offices backing the positive trend. The firm however predicts a deeper “construction crunch” that will limit new supply and heighten rental pressures across multiple asset classes.

Anne Breen, global head of real estate at abrdn, says: “The year kicked off with a somewhat shaky start for real estate given wobbles in the gilts market. However, we are accustomed to short-term volatility and remain convinced the property market correction is over and we have entered a new growth phase — at least for high-quality assets.

“Europe and the UK are facing a persistent construction crunch because of high costs and planning-permission hurdles. While solving this is key to Europe’s long-term prosperity — and will help to unlock our own

long-term ambitions — the reality is in the short term, this should further support property valuations.”

Construction new orders in the EU were down by 14% year-on-year in December according to data from Eurostat, as build costs remained elevated. This is compounded by a new nervousness around the impact of US President Donald Trump on the global economy.

The biggest change in abrdn’s forecasts is that it now expects offices to act as less of a drag on returns.

Capital value declines for the office sector have become less severe and abrdn even sees the potential for double-digit returns in some office segments this year, including London’s West End, Paris Central Business District (CBD), Madrid CBD and central Amsterdam. Low-quality office stock remains under pressure but, for prime offices, tenant demand is strong and rents rising.

Breen adds: “While we have been underweight offices for a number of years, we have noticed a significant improvement in prospects for the sector and believe there will come

AXA IM Alts’ John O”Driscoll

Abrdn’s Anne Breen

AXA IM Alts’ 50 Fenchurch Street scheme, due for delivery in 2028

a time when investors without an office exposure will underperform. Of course, the questions investors will now need to consider are: when does that time come and what does a performing office look like?”

Occupier appeal

Alternative investments specialist

AXA IM Alts recently announced that 22 Bishopsgate, the iconic London office building, is now fully let following an extensive repositioning.

RiverStone International, a global acquirer of legacy and discontinued insurance business, has signed a 15year lease for the entirety of level five, which comprises 25,000 sq ft (2,300 sq m) and is the last available space in the 1.2 million sq ft building.

AXA IM Alts developed and manages 22 Bishopsgate on behalf of the joint venture which acquired the site in early 2015 as a partially built development that had stalled in 2012 following the global financial crisis. The design was then reworked by PLP Architecture to the highest sustainability and wellness standards. In addition to its BREEAM Excellent environmental rating, 22 Bishopsgate was one of the first buildings in the UK to achieve the WELL Core & Shell Accreditation.

The building is now home to over 100 businesses including 77 — mainly start-ups and SMEs — in 22 Bishopsgate’s flex and coworking space, through to the 27 domestic and international businesses on more traditional longer term office leases of primarily 10-15 years’ duration. It also features public spaces, including Europe’s highest free public-viewing gallery, Horizon 22, and five Gordon Ramsay restaurants.

John O’Driscoll, global co-head of real estate at AXA IM Alts, says: “This final office lease marks another significant milestone for 22 Bishopsgate, a project we are proud to say has redefined what an office building should — and now needs to — offer.

“Post-pandemic we have seen a huge acceleration in the evolution of occupier requirements further contributing to the building’s success, with many of the future proofing ‘niceto-have’ features we incorporated now viewed simply as ‘must-haves’.

With little supply to match occupiers’ stringent new requirements, we are now pushing ahead with another significant development in London, at 50 Fenchurch Street, due for delivery in 2028.”

Investment tracks

Investment data in recent years has shown that most office investors are concentrating on two themes — acquiring prime offices, or secondary assets that have good potential for being converted into prime.

Looking at this latter strategy, Angeli says that its application will still focus greatly on price.

“There is a big capex back story to this. Creating a modern office — even if it’s great space, not superlative space — still costs a lot to position. Investors will ask if secondary office pricing is reflective of this new reality,” he says, adding: “Brown to green can make sense if you feel you are being rewarded from an ESG perspective.”

Looking at initiatives to convert obsolete offices to other use cases, Angeli says: “Most office buildings weren’t designed for other purposes — it’s tough, it’s costly — especially when you want to convert to living.”

He notes that office-to-residential conversions, for example, can raise insurability issues relating to heat risk, as offices are designed with different thermal requirements in mind compared to residential assets. However, it’s a topic that the industry needs to address.

“Municipalities, especially progressive ones in Europe, are going to push investors not to demolish buildings where they can, but to find solutions for standing structures. However, some use cases, such as converting an office to a last-mile space, just aren’t as valuable,” he says.

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS AT MIPIM

The Offices Workshop Thursday, March 13 10.00 – 12.30 Asset Class Stage

22 Bishopgate in London