Pandemic redefines office investment landscape

European real estate investors are rethinking their office property strategies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an investment climate survey by Union Investment. While the old mantra of location, location, location still holds true, a shift toward core, core, core is apparent in the current situation. Around half (48 percent) of the 150 real estate companies in Germany, France and the United Kingdom surveyed by Union Investment for its investment climate study are now focusing more intensively on creditworthy, crisis-proof tenants with long-term leases. Some 46 percent of survey participants are avoiding investment in secondary and tertiary locations. This change in strategy is particularly marked in France, where 73 percent of respondents are increasingly looking for creditworthy, crisis-proof tenants with long-term leases, while 78 percent will not consider secondary and tertiary locations.

Security is now the order of the day, with 48 percent of respon