Institutional Real Estate Europe

May 1, 2012: Vol. 6, Number 5

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From the Current Issue

Europe

Toward Consensus: Agreement On Measurement of Sustainability in Real Estate Will Bring Benefits for Both Investors and Fund Managers

The phrase “what can be measured can be managed” is one of the great clichés of management and business. And, like many enduring clichés, it has remained in common usage because there is real meaning and truth behind it. While you do not need to buy every syllable of this philosophy, it is important to recognise that it can be beneficial for behaviour, and investment decisions, to be evidence-based.

Europe

Every Little Bit Counts: How Investors Should Think About Reducing Energy Consumption in their Multi-Tenant Office Assets

Buildings consume a large amount of energy, and until recently real estate energy bills were viewed as an uncontrollable expense. New software and technology are changing this. Investors now realise that energy expenses can be reduced through any of five paths: capital investment (retrofits), utility incentives, open-market procurement, occupant behaviour change and operational improvement.

Europe

Biding Time: It

Conventional wisdom says that, for all intents and purposes, European investors aren’t investing. According to a recently completed survey, it isn’t for lack of desire. On average, European investment schemes of all ilks have a 9.8 percent target for real estate investment, but only have 8.8 percent actually allocated. The investors in the survey would need to invest an additional €10 billion to reach their target allocations, which they’d like to do, if only they could find deals.

Europe

Word Cloud or Fog of Words?: Managers Need to Positively Differentiate Themselves from the Competition

Over the quiet holiday weeks, I made an effort to clean up my messy office. I had piles on piles of presentation pitch books that friends and even strangers had sent me asking that I review them and provide comments, suggestions, criticisms, etc. As I remember fondly the help that “veterans” gave me when I started out in the investment management business, I try my best to respond to such requests. In addition, I often find them quite interesting to read as it gives me a window on who is out there and what they are doing.

Europe

The Wet Stuff: Water Is All Too Easily Taken for Granted, but There Is a Major Risk that There Soon Won't Be Enough of It

There is increasing “noise” around the impending water crisis and the greater degree of water scarcity. In February, parts of England were put on drought alert, reflecting reduced levels of rainfall over the past two winters, while other parts of England have more than sufficient supplies. In March, the European Environment Agency identified that a lack of water resources could threaten Europe’s productivity, and that in some river basins water scarcity continues to worsen. Water scarcity is an issue; it is a local problem but has global implications for society and business.

Europe

Neither Here nor There: Real Estate Investment Could Fall Victim to Changes in Pension Arrangements and Low Plan Take-up

You know how it is. You’re coming up to the big 6-0 — and if you’re not, you will be — and you start thinking about that milestone called the retirement age that you’re hoping to come across on your journey through life at some point in the next decade. For many people, that milestone is still at a predetermined point; unlike death, the final destination after retirement, you know when retirement is coming. For some lucky others, retirement is an achievement that can be attained at a time of their choosing — early, on time or late. 

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