Europe The shapeshifting asset class: Social infrastructure is blurring boundaries and testing how investors define essential services As the boundaries between infrastructure and real estate grow ever more hazy, social infrastructure, a hybrid investment theme born at the nexus of the two, is pervading investment portfolios — and becoming more amorphous all the while. Social infrastructure is a moving target: hard to pin down and constantly in flux. In broad terms, industry professionals define it as real assets that provide communities with essential services and contribute directly to societal wellbeing, cohesion and productivity (think healthcare, education and housing).
Europe Side by side: Retail and logistics crossbreeding continues to grow, but for how long? Retail assets are being reimagined. Businesses are “crossbreeding” — combining retail space with last-mile logistics facilities, in the same plot of land, such as a shopping centre. The logic behind the move appears simple. Retail asset owners are tackling the challenges of urban land and planning constraints, as well as the environmental and financial problems that stem from the heavy load of online returns.
Europe The bright side of bankruptcies: Distress as a strategic entry point in Germany No one knows how many more bankruptcies we will see before Europe’s property market finds its footing again. Default numbers are rising, refinancing deadlines are looming, and nonperforming loans (NPLs) are climbing across the banking sector. At first glance, this looks like a market to avoid. But that view misses half the picture. Every insolvency, every troubled loan, every mezzanine collapse is also an opening. For investors who are well capitalised and operationally skilled, these disorderly situations can provide the best opportunities for long-term investment.
Europe Rays of light: The summer months have offered a glimmer of hope amid a challenging trading year for UK hotels The UK hotel market is at a pivotal juncture in 2025, with institutional investors facing a landscape marked by renewed supply growth, evolving demand patterns, and macroeconomic uncertainties. Recent data from CoStar and industry sources highlight both opportunities and risks as the sector adapts to post-pandemic realities and global economic shifts.
Europe Weighing up the options: The 2025 Institutional Real Estate Europe editorial board takes stock of various possible routes to success in a new cycle A deluge of rain greeted the members of the 2025 Institutional Real Estate Europe Editorial Advisory Board when they gathered in Amsterdam on 17 September to share insights into the fears, concerns and hopes of the European real estate investment community. And with a highly disruptive strike held by KLM airport staff that morning at Schiphol airport, as well as the spectre of another divisive Dutch general election to be held in late October, the location and weather provided an apt metaphor for the state of the European real estate market.
Europe The quiet erosion: How inflation policy masks a systemic devaluation of the dollar The Federal Reserve’s long-standing inflation target — currently set at 2.0 percent annually — is often framed as a pillar of economic stability and prudence. But beneath this seemingly benign figure lies a deliberate and systematic policy that slowly erodes the value of the world’s reserve currency: the US dollar. While the Fed claims this target fosters higher employment and price stability, the real-world effect is a quiet but persistent devaluation of our currency. And this policy is not accidental — it is deeply intertwined with the federal government’s ballooning debt and its need to refinance it perpetually.
Europe Consolidation, capital and local advantage: Assessing the new playbook for institutional investors looking to boost real estate returns via specialist private managers High-quality, diversified, risk-adjusted returns become increasingly hard to find. In response, global institutional investor giants — from insurers to sovereign wealth funds to family offices and pension funds — are increasingly turning to smaller specialist real estate fund managers to access a wider spectrum of property investment strategies, geographies and products.
Europe Defence spending to reshape European real estate Rising defence spending across Europe is expected to affect real estate demand, most notably in major cities in Bavaria and western Germany, southern France, and the west of England, according to LaSalle Investment Management. The manager’s European Cities Growth Index (ECGI) annual report says European states’ planned defence budget increases from 2025 to 2030 is expected to shift spending and growth to new locations across Europe.
Europe Residential capital values return to positive territory Capital values across Europe’s top 25 residential city markets have returned to positive territory, according to PATRIZIA. In its PATRIZIA INSIGHT — European Residential Markets report, the manager says all the markets in the top 25 cities were in positive territory by the second quarter of 2025. However, divergence between groups has widened. The top quartile of cities saw prime capital value growth of 13 percent year-over-year up to the second quarter of 2025, while the lower quartile managed only 3 percent.
Europe Sentiment in non-listed market cautious, but improving Although investors and fund managers are remaining cautious, sentiment across the European non-listed real estate market is improving. Four of the five measurements used by INREV for its Consensus Indicator moved further into positive territory in September, bringing the headline indicator number to 56.4, up from 52.2 in June. The previous two quarters saw the Consensus Indicator register a decline in confidence.
Europe UK reaching rental housing crisis “critical juncture” The United Kingdom has reached a “critical juncture” in its housing crisis, warns Aberdeen. The manager says the country needs a renewed focus on the private rented sector (PRS) if it is to even have a chance of meeting its urgent housing needs. Research by Aberdeen shows the UK Government’s goal of building 370,000 new homes a year in England alone, was last achieved in 1969. Today, this target is already behind schedule and is being exacerbated by a growing population and the country’s ageing housing supply.
Europe Avoiding a trap: Is diversification more of a risk than a hedge? When I was at university, I learnt one of the great principles of modern finance: A diversified portfolio reduces risk for a given level of return. By mixing assets, you could smooth the ride and still aim for the same target return. It felt like magic. But it is not magic. The reason it is such a powerful and enduring concept is correlation. If assets do not move together, the losses in one can be offset by gains in another. It is the foundation stone of portfolio theory, and for good reason. But there is a catch.
