European life sciences real estate is increasingly recognised as a reliable source of long-term, secure income. Many top global managers are pursuing core strategies within this growing sector, underpinned by robust tenant demand and longer-than-average lease lengths.

IPE Real Assets’ list of the top 150 real estate investment managers reveals that 40 out of 150 monitored managers are active in European life sciences real estate. Interestingly, these 40 show a strong emphasis on core and core-plus strategies, with fewer players adopting value-added or opportunistic approaches. This indicates that many large managers perceive the sector as mature enough to prioritise stabilised assets over high-risk investments.

This is corroborated when speaking to managers. For example, when asked to compare life sciences real estate to more traditional sectors such as CBD office — in terms of stability of income — Maarten Frouws, European portfolio manager at Fidelity Internati