Since the pandemic, cost-of-living crisis and inflation-linked interest-rate rises, UK shopping centres have been viewed as unwelcome, secondary assets when pitted against the more fashionable sheds, beds and meds. There has, however, been a significant shift, with 2024 poised to be a year of strong investment in the sector. Institutional investors are leading a resurgence, with investment volumes projected to be double those of the previous 12 months.

Once a competitive edge, sustainability is now imperative in the European hotel sector. A strong sustainability strategy enables investors to identify opportunities and manage risks related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors — as well as drive performance to create long-term value. The shift from sustainability being an advantage to a business necessity is driven by three main factors.

Let us imagine, if you can bear it, that it is Monday morning. You’ve taken out your laptop and connected to the wi-fi to start a day of working from home, thinking about the week ahead. What you may not be thinking about, however, is the physical infrastructure that enables you to be connected to your colleagues who are many miles away. Digital infrastructure — think data centres, transmission towers, and fibre networks — is essential to today’s economy. Burgeoning digital industries mean the requirement to support these assets will only grow in the near future.

Intuitively, we tend to assume that an investment manager who consistently has outperformed the benchmark is likely to continue to outperform the benchmark. And, conversely, we tend to assume that an investment manager who consistently has underperformed the benchmark is likely to continue to underperform. We also tend to assume that a manager with its own capital at risk is more likely to have its interests aligned with the interests of its investor clients. To the best of my knowledge, there’s absolutely zero evidence to support either of these contentions.

Lending conditions are ripe in an uncertain real estate market environment, as borrowing costs are among the highest in 25 years, and record levels of upcoming loan maturities have restricted lending activity for many traditional lenders. Importantly, these conditions exist against the backdrop of strong employment numbers and a generally healthy economy, resulting in an opportunity for astute investors who can make sense of the current market dynamics to generate excellent risk-adjusted returns by investing in enhanced income strategies via real estate debt.

European transaction volumes were down by 1 percent in the first nine months of 2024 when compared with the same period in 2023, according to MSCI’s Europe Capital Trends report on the third quarter of the year. The volume of completed transactions in July through to September declined 2 percent from a year earlier to €39.2 billion, taking transaction volumes to €130.9 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Transit-oriented developments (TODs) are becoming an essential aspect of urban renewal and a key contributor to sustainability and real estate optimisation, according to a new report from Colliers, The Value in Transit-Oriented Developments. Defined as a mixed-use development close to high-traffic transit points, combining residential, retail, office, and open space amid a walkable environment, TODs represent a solution to merge all types of traffic into a live-work-play lifestyle. Often, successful TODs promote an increase in public-transit usage and can help alleviate urban sprawl by increasing the variety and density of amenities available through mixed-land use.

Touristic real estate — in particular leisure hotels and resorts — has long been underestimated as a sector. Properties in this real estate segment are much more complex and demand a deeper understanding of the product compared with other hospitality subsectors such as city-located business hotels. Leisure hotels and resorts have to meet the different expectations of a heterogeneous target group. At the same time, investors have to consider which touristic destinations will continue to function well. Nevertheless, touristic real estate has proved to be extremely resilient, despite the disruption caused by travel restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis and current market turbulence.