Real Asset Media Thought Leaders

Episodet

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  Defence spending to fuel Romanian real estate, Voichita Lefter, AREI 11.06.2026 4min

  Increased defence spending across Europe could create new opportunities for Romania's real estate sector, according to Voichita Lefter, secretary general of the Association of Real Estate Investors in Romania (AREI). Speaking to Real Asset Media's Richard Betts at Mipim 2026, Lefter said Romania remained an attractive destination for international capital, with opportunities across logistics, industrial, residential and retail real estate. "Our first aim here as a country pavilion is actually to tell our story to the international arena," Lefter said. "We want international investors to approach Romania." She said the country wanted to showcase opportunities to investors and highlight the track record of both domestic and international companies already active in the market. "Retail is picking up again very well, so I think there are a lot of opportunities that need to be approached, but somebody has to know us," she said. Lefter said Romania's presence alongside government representatives gave investors an opportunity to better understand the country's regulatory environment and public-private partnership opportunities. "The Romanian state is also interested more and more in public-private partnerships, which are also a route to take, especially in the real estate industry, where a lot of infrastructure can be done together with investors," she said. Lefter said Romania still had significant untapped potential. "Romania still has opportunities. A lot of land is out there. The government is willing to discuss opportunities, is willing to take part into these new business arenas," she said. She also pointed to opportunities linked to increased European defence spending. "We have also a lot of money coming from the European defence systems right now — with wars that are happening in the region — and I think we can also build on the defence industry some new streams of revenue for the real estate industry," she said. She added that investors should consider the opportunities available in a country located on the border with Ukraine. "I think we should look with all the lenses, with all the proper lenses, to the opportunities that Romania has, being on the border of Ukraine," she said. Lefter said investors should also look beyond Romania's largest cities. "Cluj, Bucharest, Timișoara, Iași are already filled up with a lot of developments, but I think there are also other secondary cities that are building up their presence," she said. She added local partners in these cities increasingly understood the benefits that investment could bring to communities and economic development. " [They understand] what investors can bring to the community, and how the communities can benefit from this investment, and what they can do together," she said. www.realFDI.com www.realassetinsight.com
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  European logistics enters new growth cycle, Ingo Steves, Swiss Life AM 25.05.2026 2min

  Swiss Life Asset Managers is positioning itself for what it sees as the beginning of a new growth cycle in European logistics, supported by rising occupier demand, strengthening rents and continued investor appetite across key markets. “We are very optimistic about the beginning of the next cycle for logistics,” Ingo Steves, managing partner, logistics, at Swiss Life Asset Managers, told Real Asset Media. “The demand for logistics space is increasing. Investors' appetite is on a very high level.” Swiss Life Asset Managers, a Switzerland-based real estate and infrastructure investment manager, is actively expanding across European logistics markets including Germany, the Netherlands and France, while also targeting opportunities in Spain, Italy and the UK. “We are very active as a developer investor for Swiss Life Asset Management,” Steves said. “We are covering now, European-wide, submarkets like Germany, like Netherlands, like France. We would like to be in Spain and in Italy. And we are looking at some sites even in the UK.” The group is increasingly prepared to pursue speculative development in stronger logistics locations as supply conditions tighten and occupier competition increases. “The better the location is we are looking at it, the more we are convinced to go speculative,” he said. Steves said landlords are regaining pricing power in several European logistics markets, with incentives falling and net operating income improving. “In strong submarkets, we see an increase of headline rents,” he said. “The effective rents are more or less equivalent to the headline rents. That means not that much incentive needs to be paid by the landlord and the developer. “It comes from occupier market to landlord market again. And the NOI grows all over the place,” he added. “That is a strong sign that occupiers need to know to secure space as soon as possible.” Swiss Life Asset Managers is targeting both large-scale distribution centres and urban logistics assets, with activity spanning major German logistics markets including Frankfurt, Bavaria and Karlsruhe. “The demand is for big box logistics as well for last mile or infill markets. We have both,” Steves said. “For example, in Frankfurt, we are in the Bavarian regions for big box developments. We are in Karlsruhe for last mile or infill markets.” He added that developer-investor platforms increasingly need to cater for multiple logistics formats as occupier requirements evolve. “As a developer-investor platform, you need to deliver both,” he said. “Smaller boxes in infill markets, last mile logistic boxes and big boxes like e-fulfilment centres.” www.realassetinsight.com
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  Deal trends, data sovereignty and AI: Alexandre Grellier, Drooms 13.05.2026 6min

  Alexandre Grellier, chief executive and co-founder of Drooms, said real estate transactions are taking longer to complete as financing requirements become more demanding and investors request increasingly detailed documentation. He added that concerns around digital sovereignty are reshaping how firms deploy AI tools in Europe. Speaking to Real Asset Media’s Richard Betts, Grellier said Drooms’ research showed average deal durations had risen to around 368 days by the end of 2025, reflecting prolonged due diligence processes and tighter lending scrutiny. “We did research at the end of last year, which is interesting that the duration of the deals have been increasingly taking more time, and so we are at a high point of more than a year,” he said. He said some market participants initially viewed stabilising transaction timelines at the end of last year as a potential turning point for European real estate markets, with more deals entering preparation phases during the first quarter of 2026. However, many transactions still struggled to complete. “What we have seen since is that we had more activity, we had more deals which were in preparation, which were trying to get over the line, but this hasn’t materialised yet,” Grellier said. He linked the slowdown partly to the growing complexity of financing processes, with banks demanding significantly more information before committing capital. “Banks are requiring far more information,” he said. “What we hear from customers is that they get through multiple request rounds with regards to more information, more information, more information, so that globally deals are taking much longer.” Grellier added that data room volumes were increasing as investors and lenders requested deeper and more specialised documentation throughout the transaction process. “What I hear from the market is that the bid-ask gap is not yet closed,” he said. Alongside transaction trends, Grellier said digital sovereignty had become a major issue for European companies adopting AI technologies, particularly those handling sensitive customer data. “Digital sovereignty has become a major topic,” he said. “The question that you’re asking yourself is — where is my data going?” He said the issue extended beyond the physical location of servers and centred increasingly on ownership and control of the underlying platforms and AI models. “Digital sovereignty doesn’t just mean, where does the data lie? It’s really — who does the data belong to?” he said. “Because independently where you have your data, it’s like if the company who is holding your data is not a EU-based company, a EU-owned company, it’s pretty difficult to comply with GDPR.” Grellier said the rapid adoption of publicly available AI systems — including tools such as Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT — created additional compliance challenges because many companies lacked control over how underlying models processed and retained information. “And now if you turn it into AI, and this is where we are all really working hard on and getting really good solutions for our customers, it’s like, who is owning the models you are then using to analyse data, to analyse content?” he said. Drooms has therefore opted to run its own large language model infrastructure internally to maintain regulatory compliance and greater control over customer information. “We decided to have a large language model which is running on our servers, which is really compliant with all kinds of laws that you would need to be able to use these tools,” Grellier said. Despite growing adoption, he cautioned that AI still required careful oversight and could not yet replace human judgement in critical business decisions. “The impact of AI is undeniable,” he said. “Is AI reliable to a point where you would just base everything on AI? Definitely not. At least not yet.” He added that businesses still needed robust safeguards to minimise inaccurate or misleading outputs from AI systems. “You
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  Reykjavik's residential project Keldur offers significant opportunities for international investors 09.04.2026 3min

  Speaking to REAL FDI at Mipim 2026, Thorsteinn R Hermannsson, director of development at Transport for the Capital Area, Iceland, and Joanna Attvall, architect and partner at FOJAB, set out plans for Keldur, a major new residential-led urban district in Reykjavik designed to attract international capital. Hermannsson described the project as a uniquely large, single-owner development opportunity within the Icelandic market. "The Keldur Development Area is a big piece of land within Reykjavik that was previously owned by the state as a farmland, but it is now enclosed within the urban development in Reykjavik," he said. "As a public company, we have been given this land to develop and all the profits from the land will go into funding transport infrastructure in the capital area." The site is being brought forward under Reykjavik's master plan following an international design competition in 2023, won by FOJAB. The scheme will deliver around 6,000 housing units alongside 150,000 square metres of commercial space. "Having a big piece of land and that big development area in one project is quite unique," Hermannsson said. The scale and structure of the project underpin its appeal to global investors, with authorities actively testing international appetite. "We want to present it and see if there is any untested interest from international investors and developers to see if they want to come to Iceland for the first time, to Reykjavik for the first time and develop a new urban quarter with us," he said. "Maybe buy big pieces of land; instead of the Icelandic way of doing things [which] is sort of going smaller." The masterplan centres on transit-orientated development, anchored by three public transport stations along the Borgarlína corridor. Attvall said sustainability and liveability sit at the core of the design approach. "Environmental aspects are the most important part and the core of the project," she said. "The way we have done it in the Keldur area is really like transit-orientated development, which means in this case that everything stands along the public transport. "And then we have kept the green areas surrounding it. And it is really designed for easy everyday life." The project also responds to acute housing pressure in the Icelandic capital, with authorities positioning it as part of the solution to supply constraints. "There is a huge demand for new housing in the Reykjavik area," Hermannsson said. "We believe that we have an opportunity now to maybe involve international investors in helping us solve the housing crisis." Planning is advancing toward formal approval, with detailed design work expected to follow. "By the end of this year, we will have a local master plan confirmed by the city of Reykjavik. We will also start doing the detailed plans. So hopefully in 2027 or late 2026, we can start having a discussion with developers and investors on how to proceed with the detailed plans and the development itself."  
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  Germany’s overlooked industrial assets offer investor opportunity: Dr Wulf Meinel, StoneVest 09.04.2026 2min

  Speaking to Real Asset Media at Mipim 2026 in Cannes, Dr Wulf Meinel, founding partner at StoneVest, set out why investors should look beyond logistics to uncover value in Germany’s industrial sector. He acknowledged the challenging macro backdrop but framed it as an opportunity rather than a deterrent. “The German economy faces some headwinds, but headwinds are a chance,” he said. “If you take a detailed look into the German market, it offers more opportunities than you would imagine.” Meinel argued that investors often overlook a key distinction within industrial real estate. While logistics has dominated capital flows, he highlighted owner-occupied, mission-critical production assets as a significantly underappreciated segment. “The owner-occupied mission-critical production asset is an undervalued sector with an enormous market potential,” he said. This opportunity is rooted in the structure of Germany’s corporate landscape. A large share of industrial companies – particularly the Mittelstand – still own their production facilities and have historically not used them as a financing tool. “That over 70%, nearly 80% of German industries… are owners of their mission-critical production assets,” Meinel said. “So far, [they've] only in very few cases used this as a source of their corporate financing. This is now carefully and slowly breaking up.” As these ownership structures begin to evolve, he sees a pipeline of potential transactions emerging, creating entry points for investors. Meinel also pushed back against the idea that German manufacturing is in structural decline or relocating en masse due to cost pressures. Instead, he emphasised the strength of the country’s industrial base. “The German workforce is not so expensive compared to international prices that the German Mittelstand companies are all turning their back to working in Germany,” he said. “They’re staying there because it’s very qualified personnel.” He added that innovation remains a core strength of the economy, noting that “the innovation index within the German economy is 10% higher than the average of its European neighbours”. This combination of skilled labour, innovation and established industrial bases creates what he described as “sticky” occupiers – companies that are deeply tied to their locations and unlikely to relocate. “They are sticky to their locations,” Meinel said, concluding that this makes such assets “a very attractive investment target if one looks into where one should invest into German real estate”.
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  Ambassadori Island Batumi sets out Black Sea smart city vision with $1bn backing 08.04.2026 5min

  Speaking to REAL FDI at Mipim, Gocha Kamkia, chief executive officer of Ambassadori Island Batumi, set out plans to deliver a 102-hectare artificial island development on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. The project combines real estate, infrastructure and a long-term smart city strategy aimed at international investors. He described the project as “the address of the Black Sea”, positioning it as both a lifestyle destination and an investment platform, with around half of the scheme already completed and commissioned. The development has attracted close to $1 billion in international investment to date. “We are here with our strong results and we are seeking new opportunities [to share] our international success,” he said, adding that the company is “reshaping people's understanding of the hospitality business in Georgia and getting it to the new stage of development.” Kamkia emphasised that the company operates an integrated model rather than simply selling land. “We are not a simple land selling company. We make integrated investment opportunities,” he said, outlining a process that includes land allocation, business concept development, permitting and execution. This structure, he said, creates a “business-friendly environment” that allows international investors to enter the market and “send the world the signal that island land works.” The project is being positioned as a long-term urban development anchored in a smart city concept developed with global partners. “We have the strategy to integrate their first smart city concept,” he said, adding that the firm is “a completely data-driven company” drawing on more than 20 years of experience. Kamkia said projections indicate Batumi’s population could increase by around 100,000, supporting long-term demand if “we create the right environment for thinking and giving opportunities.” He added that the company is currently among the “best sellers of real estate in the Black Sea region,” across both apartments and investment land. Development activity on the island includes a 58-floor multifunctional tower and a 120,000 sq m shopping mall, designed to create strong footfall. The scheme is also attracting international brands, with Tonino Lamborghini positioning on the island. Future phases include a marina that would become Georgia’s first yacht club, alongside education and healthcare facilities, business centres, hotels and residential assets. “The real estate market will really grow in Georgia in a fast way,” Kamkia said. He linked this outlook to macroeconomic performance, noting: “In 2024, for example, Georgia had a growth of 10% yearly GDP, which is a world record,” adding that this creates the conditions for “bold decisions” and international capital inflows. The development is being delivered with a network of global partners. Arup is working on the masterplan and smart city concept, including collaboration with teams in Turkey and German experts. SHoP Architects, a New York-based firm, is leading on design, while feasibility studies are being conducted across teams in Tbilisi and London. Kamkia also highlighted the experience of infrastructure partners involved in the project, including firms that have delivered large-scale projects in more than 60 countries and developed international airports on artificial land in the Black Sea region, demonstrating the feasibility of such schemes. “We have for that passion, reason, numbers and our international friends,” he said. He added that platforms such as FIABCI provide an opportunity “to declare our results, bring our voice from the Black Sea and display what kind of unparalleled real development we have in our region.” Looking ahead, he framed the project as a signal to global capital. “We created all the environment and systems to develop Western understanding and structuring such kind of systems of business,” he said. Kamkia concluded: “We are very confident that we will execute this project in the near future.”
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  Iceland’s K64 airport masterplan targets data centre growth: Pálmi Randversson, KADECO 03.04.2026 2min

  Speaking to Real FDI at Mipim 2026, Pálmi Randversson, managing director of Keflavík Airport Development Company (KADECO), outlines the strategy behind Iceland’s K64 masterplan and the growing international interest in the Keflavík Airport development zone. He explains that K64 - Iceland's Airport Region, as the project is branded, is a long-term development framework for land surrounding Keflavík Airport, aimed at attracting international occupiers and maximising the strategic value of the location. “K64 is a masterplan for the area around Keflavík Airport. We are promoting different development sites next to the airport, capitalising on the airport opportunities and also opportunities related to locating your businesses in Iceland.” Since launching the initiative in 2023, KADECO has been actively engaging with investors and occupiers, with particular momentum in digital infrastructure. “Currently, we have quite extensive data centre development taking place, both extensions to the current data centres that are located there right now, and we are also getting questions and enquiries from other data centre [developers] that want to locate in Iceland.” Randversson highlights Iceland’s structural advantages for the sector, including renewable energy and climate conditions. “I think data centres are quite logical because of the natural cooling, the access to green energy and the location at the airport is also a great benefit for locating your data centres and other types of businesses.” Beyond data centres, the strategy is focused on broadening the local economic base beyond tourism, including aviation-related industries and residential development linked to employment growth. “The ultimate vision and the sustainability part of the masterplan is creating more diverse job opportunities for the people who live there.” He adds that planning progress over the past year has brought sites forward for development, supported by coordination with local authorities on infrastructure and housing. “KADECO is the one-stop shop if you want to come and locate your business at the airport area.” www.invest.k64.is www.realfdi.com
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  Income growth drives European real estate in 2026, David Inskip, CBRE IM 01.04.2026 1min

  Speaking to Real Asset Media at Mipim 2026, David Inskip, EMEA head of research at CBRE Investment Management, shares his insights on the outlook for European real estate, including market sentiment, sector dynamics and capital flows. Inskip explains that the market has firmly transitioned into a higher interest rate environment, with investors increasingly focused on income growth and net operating income as the primary drivers of returns. “At CBRE IM, through this coming cycle, we're really focused on income growth. So we've clearly shifted into a higher interest rate environment. We see the world staying in that environment, probably with more volatility there as well.” He highlights a more flexible, sector-agnostic investment approach, targeting markets and assets where strong occupier demand meets constrained supply. “So we're really focused on growing NOI across markets, that actually leads us to be quite sector agnostic. We're really focused on those pockets, be they markets or specific assets, where the strong demand is hitting a lack of supply, and we think that will be the key driver of returns.” In the office sector, Inskip notes that the sharp divide between prime and secondary assets is beginning to ease slightly, particularly in leading European cities. “For offices, what we're beginning to see is that the stark bifurcation between the best assets and everything else is maybe just moderating a little.” He points to London as a key example, where demand for prime space is starting to extend into the next tier of buildings and locations. “So in places like London, we do begin to see that demand for the very best space spilling over into the next tier of buildings and locations. So that's positive and certainly one for investors to watch.” Retail performance remains uneven across Europe, with stronger fundamentals in Southern Europe and more challenging conditions in Northern markets. “In retail, it's a very mixed bag. So you have markets like Spain, and to a slightly lesser extent, Italy, even the [CEE] markets, where actually the consumer picture is strong, sales growth is good. There are plenty of schemes across the types, be it high street, retail, park, shop in centre, where the prospects are good.” However, he adds: “When you move to Northern Europe, the picture isn't quite so positive, and you need to be a bit more selective. There we probably see retail warehousing leading over shopping centres.” On capital flows, Inskip observes a shift towards more domestically focused investment, although international capital continues to play a role. “With all of the uncertainty, I think capital has become a bit more domestic and locally focused, so the European capital is really important. But we still see the flows from around the world.” He adds that US capital is currently more constrained, while investors from Asia-Pacific and Canada remain active, often targeting higher-return strategies. “I think US capital is generally staying at home at the moment, but we see more flows from Asia-Pacific, from places like Australia. We also see flows coming from Canada. They're typically looking for a little bit of extra return, so more focused on the core plus strategies than the real core.” www.realassetinsight.com
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  Living sector and Germany set to benefit from global uncertainty 26.03.2026 1min

  Europe’s residential and living sectors are attracting growing investor interest, supported by supply shortages and shifting capital allocation, according to Rainer Nonnengässer, managing director of omniLiv. Speaking at Mipim 2026 in an interview with Real Asset Media, Nonnengässer said the region is benefiting from renewed global attention, although he stopped short of describing it as a defensive play. “I believe in the current global situation. Europe has gained a lot of attractiveness from an investor's point of view. I wouldn't say safe haven — I don't like the expression safe haven that much — but there is a strong appetite into Europe.” He highlighted strong investor demand for operational residential sectors, with capital targeting a broad range of living strategies. “Everything that is related to beds comes with a high attraction for investors. And this spans from hospitality through PBSA, multifamily into senior living.” Geographically, Nonnengässer pointed to Southern Europe as a key focus, particularly Spain and Portugal, while also identifying opportunities in markets that have undergone repricing. “As regards the geographical focus, I think Iberia is the flavour of the day. Germany has a lot of potential due to price corrections over the last two years. And to a certain extent I believe CEE will also see some renaissance in the next two years, depending on how the situation with Ukraine evolves.” He said structural imbalances in Germany’s housing market remain a key driver of rental growth, with demand continuing to outstrip supply following a slowdown in development activity. “In Germany the supply-demand situation is more or less unchanged. There is a high tension on the demand side, whereas supply — since the change in the interest environment three years ago — has cooled down, so development activities are significantly lower than years ago.” This dynamic is reinforcing urban concentration trends and putting further pressure on housing availability in major cities. “And this has an effect on rents. This has a concentration effect, where metropolitan areas are still seeing stronger inflow by people than other areas, and are even affected more by this gap than some years ago.” www.realassetinsight.com
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  Defensive positioning but “new spring” emerging 26.03.2026 1min

  Investor sentiment remains sharply divided as real estate markets navigate an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, with structural sectors offering the clearest opportunities for 2026, according to Petra Blazkova, head of research and strategy at Catella Group, the European real estate investment manager.  Speaking to Real Asset Media at Mipim 2026, she said the firm has adopted a cautious but forward-looking stance in its latest outlook.  “Catella just published their house view for 2026 and we call it defensive positioning, but also it's a 'new spring', as a new spring is beginning,” she said. “But in this quite uncertain market, you have to think about your investment conviction very, very carefully — in the uncertain world that we have.”  Blazkova said the firm has shifted its focus toward structural opportunities, particularly within the living sector, where long-term demand drivers remain intact.  “We structured, we looked at it more from the structural opportunities, which is anything from living,” she said.  Within this, affordable and operational housing formats are emerging as key areas of interest.  “We like the affordable housing, obviously something that people can reach, operational living, whether it would be senior housing or some of the flex living. People like their flexibility when it comes, when we look into the future.”  Beyond living, Blazkova highlighted a shift in relative sector attractiveness compared with recent years. Retail is showing renewed potential, while central business district offices are beginning to present selective opportunities. Logistics, she suggested, continues to sit between cyclical and structural dynamics.  “And among the technical opportunities, I think what's becoming far more interesting than in the previous year would be retail,” she said. “CBD offices also, we see some opportunities there and logistics sit somewhere in between.”  She added that sentiment at this year’s Mipim reflects the broader uncertainty in the market, with little consensus among investors. “So this year Mipim is quite unusual to many others that we have been before. And what I hear in the last few days is that the views on the outlook and what's going to happen are quite extreme between the very positive and very negative,” she said.  “So, there is nothing in between really. So, there is quite a bipolarity among the attendants.”   www.realassetinsight.com
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  Romanian government working with regions to create investment opportunities for global capital 25.03.2026 4min

  Romania is strengthening coordination between central and local authorities while overhauling investment legislation to attract international capital, Orsolya Mária Kövér, secretary of state at the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, said. Speaking to Richard Betts, group publisher of Real Asset Media, at Mipim 2026 in Cannes, Kövér outlined reforms aimed at improving permitting processes, increasing transparency and creating a more predictable investment environment. “It is a very interesting destination because we still have a lot of resources. It is a very resourceful country. We have a lot of fields and domains which are not entirely covered yet, so still space for everybody.”  Kövér said legislative changes over the past year have focused on accelerating investment processes and reducing administrative barriers.  “We narrowed down the deadlines and put in place a whole new procedure and a wide range of digitalisation in order to be more efficient, more transparent and more predictable.”  The Ministry plays a central role in coordinating investment policy, urban planning and infrastructure development, while maintaining direct oversight of local authorities.  “We are in direct contact with the local authorities all the time… and all the financing that we are doing is towards the local authorities.”  This close relationship allows the government to align national priorities with regional needs, while also working with regional development agencies to shape investment strategies.  “It is very important for us to create a direct link to the regional development agencies… together with them we can create a more viable strategy.”  Romania is targeting a broad range of investment across sectors, with a particular focus on infrastructure development to support long-term economic growth.  “We are still very involved in the infrastructure part to develop further our railway infrastructure, our highway infrastructure, but also the secondary infrastructure in order to be able to irrigate all these main lines of routes.”  Kövér highlighted that significant parts of the country remain underdeveloped, offering opportunities for international investors across multiple asset classes.  “Practically, we have parts of the country which are still virgin. So, they need every type of action and every type of investment and we’re happy to welcome everybody.”  “It is very important for us to hear what they have to say… we can take into consideration for our future financing programming all these needs that we identify also in the private sector.”  By combining legislative reform, infrastructure investment and closer coordination with regional stakeholders, Romania is aiming to build a more competitive and scalable investment environment for global capital.
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  Europe’s data centre market has transformed during the past 12 months 25.03.2026 3min

  Europe’s data centre market is rapidly evolving into one of the most dynamic areas of real estate investment, shaped by digital transformation, geopolitical pressures and shifting stakeholder expectations, according to Thomas Veith, global real estate leader at PwC. Speaking at Mipim 2026 in Cannes in an interview with Richard Betts, group publisher of Real Asset Media, Veith said the sector has emerged as a clear focal point for investors seeking long-term structural growth. “People are looking for what the opportunities are. And as we have seen from our roundtable, data centres are of course the hottest thing, it seems,” he said. He linked the surge in interest to a broader transformation of the digital economy, with demand for infrastructure accelerating across Europe. Alongside this, geopolitical tensions are increasingly shaping investment decisions, particularly around data sovereignty. “One important topic that’s coming on top, driven by the geopolitics, that’s about sovereignty in Europe… we [will] need more local infrastructure here in Europe,” Veith said, adding that this is reinforcing demand beyond pure digitisation trends. While data centres have become a top investment class over the past three to four years, Veith stressed that the European market differs structurally from the US. Rather than being dominated by hyperscale developments, Europe is seeing a more diverse and fragmented landscape. “The range of data centre that we are seeing is really multiplying. It’s not just a hyperscaler… Europe is not such a hyperscaler market,” he said. Instead, growth is being driven by a mix of cloud providers entering the market, as well as facilities designed specifically for AI-led workloads. Co-location assets remain central, but the range of developments is broadening as demand diversifies. Sustainability considerations are also reshaping how and where data centres are built. Veith noted a clear shift away from large greenfield developments towards repurposing existing assets. “It’s less building the big 100 megawatt sites on green areas. It’s more the alternative use of current existing brownfield assets… like old office buildings,” he said. This approach reflects both environmental pressures and constraints around energy availability, which remain critical to development decisions. At the same time, the stakeholder landscape is becoming more complex. Governments, municipalities and local communities are taking a more active role in shaping data centre deployment, often weighing economic benefits against competing land uses. “It’s more, also, the society and the governments that are looking at this… every city is thinking about… what do I get out of the tax? How many jobs does this create?” Veith said. He warned that in some markets, this is leading to increasing resistance, with certain cities pushing back against further data centre expansion. “We see in some parts of Europe that this is a high competition where a lot of cities say, ‘no, we don’t want more data centres currently’. And that’s a bad trend,” he added. As a result, Veith emphasised that successful development will depend not only on securing power and connectivity, but also on managing a broader set of stakeholders. “The stakeholder management has to be widened… we have to also take care of the public, the governments, the local cities that want to have their stake out of the data centre transformation,” he said. The sector’s rapid evolution since Mipim 2025 highlights how quickly data centres have moved to the centre of Europe’s real estate investment narrative, with growth prospects remaining strong but increasingly complex to navigate.
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  RSM & Yardi expand co-operation in Europe as partnerships seen key in digital transformation 09.03.2026 7min

  With increasing complexity for real estate investors, partnerships are now being seen as key in terms of building and delivering solutions for clients according to Angie Abbis, Director, Data Digital Services Finance Automation at RSM in New York and Jan-Willem Jeucken, Associate Director Europe at Yardi as they discuss the expansion of their collaboration in Europe with Richard Betts of Real Asset Media. www.realassetinsight.com
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  Banking pressure and pension capital will reshape property markets — Andreas Walter, Yester & Morrow 16.02.2026 2min

  Andreas Walter, partner and attorney at law at German boutique firm Yester & Morrow, says Europe’s real estate market is approaching a decisive turning point as refinancing pressure builds and regulatory reforms unlock new sources of long-term capital. Speaking to Real Asset Media, Walter said prolonged market inertia since 2024 is nearing its end. “In 2026, we are going to see a market movement. We've seen a standstill in the market for 2024–2025 because the refinancing. We had a record high refinancing rate which has not taken place. The can was kicked down the road. The banks didn't refinance. There was no pressure from the banking side on the lenders. We think this is going to shift, because as the first one within the line is going to fall, then it's going to have a huge impact on the overall market,” he said. He explained that lenders have so far been able to defer difficult decisions by relying on existing credit assessments, provided borrowers maintained sufficient cash flow. “There even is a legal reasoning for that, because the banks can prolong on their old assessments, even if it's a soft breach, as long as the capital flow is there,” he said. He warned that this flexibility is now fading. “Now, once that changes, they need to go into a new assessment. We think 2026 is going to be the year when, for the first time, there's going to be pressure from the banking side on the real estate sector to refinance,” he said. Walter also highlighted major changes in Germany’s regulatory treatment of fund structures, which he believes will reshape institutional investment. “Well, from the positive side, on the other hand, what we are currently seeing is a paradigm shift in the way the legislature actually treats the regulation on the fund sector,” he said. He said the reforms will enable pension funds to invest more directly in real estate and infrastructure through joint ventures. “Now, what does that enable? It gives us the chance to actually pool pension money, not only international but also German pension money, with a very direct investment ability from a fund into a JV, into the real estate and the infrastructure sector,” he said. A central element is the removal of long-standing tax risks that previously discouraged integrated investment structures. “Because they are taking away this huge risk of trade tax which was always there, banning people going into sensible economic structures, they had to legally separate them and therefore destroy value within the chain,” he said. He added that legislative reform will support more efficient deployment of capital. “Now, shifting this from the legislative side is going to give us the ability to have a direct investment into infrastructure and commercial activities, which is going to have a huge impact from our perspective,” he said. Walter sees infrastructure-led strategies as central to building more resilient portfolios. “And what is the core type, or the core essence, of infrastructure? It is way less volatile than real estate. So, you've got a steady income stream from the infrastructure,” he said. He argued that combining infrastructure and property investment could help address wider social challenges. “We can combine it with real estate and therefore have a real impact on big questions of the society. Like, how do we live? How do we combine living of the younger and the older generation? And how do we get back to vibrant inner cities?” he said. Environmental performance, he added, will be central to future development models. “Well, if we make them climate neutral, due to the fact that we have got renewable energies, and we can have a direct investment, we combine it with the real estate on which we are building it. It's going to be a win-win for everybody,” he said. Taken together, Walter believes 2026 will mark a transition away from financial forbearance and regulatory constraint towards tighter credit discipline and more flexible capital structures. Whi
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  Positive outlook for real estate debt strategies in Germany, Patrick Züchner, Aukera Real Estate 16.02.2026 2min

  German real estate debt strategies are entering a new market cycle with improving fundamentals, despite continued fundraising challenges and selective competition for lower-risk assets, according to Patrick Züchner, chief investment officer at Aukera Real Estate. Speaking to Real Asset Media, Züchner said Aukera benefits from a long operating history across cycles, even though the firm itself was established in 2020. “The team actually started very early in the cycle back in the day 2010,” he said. “We had the idea to create a German-speaking manager, and I think there was a need.” He added that the firm’s local positioning extends beyond language. “The German angle, not only language-wise but also mentality and documentation-wise, helped us a lot to get traction,” Züchner said. During the previous cycle, the team “was able to raise and invest more than 4 billion,” providing a strong foundation at the start of the next phase of the market. Aukera focuses on niche real estate debt transactions typically ranging between €10 million and €15 million. Züchner described this segment as “a nice sweet spot,” combining “an institutional type of property [and] an institutional type of sponsor,” while still benefiting from “a lack of competition in the market.” The strategy is deployed across sectors, although Züchner said offices remain the most challenging. “It’s even the most critical, I think, for the office market,” he said, citing weak macro and global trends. Despite this, he highlighted the role of experienced local sponsors. “They are nevertheless our local heroes, which concentrate on making real estate actively look nicer, feel nicer and get more attraction from tenants, and therefore also actively increase value.” As an example, Züchner pointed to a recently closed office financing in the Netherlands involving a global seller exiting the sector and a local sponsor stepping in. “On top of the purchase price there is a 15% capex tranche within the loan to increase the ESG side of the property,” he said. The building is “already 80% occupied,” and benefits from “an improving location,” which he described as “a combination of a niche product with a very bright future.” Looking ahead, Züchner expects financing conditions to remain demanding. “2026 will still be a competitive market on the very simple product side,” he said, adding that “if you tick only nine out of ten boxes, it will be very difficult for borrowers to get financing.” Based on his experience over the past decade, Züchner said capital deployment is rarely the main constraint in real estate debt markets. “Deal flow and deployment was never the bottleneck, but fundraising,” he said, noting that many German investors “struggle a bit these days to return to private debt, especially the real estate debt market.” Despite this, he struck an optimistic tone. “The environment is very positive,” Züchner said, adding that Aukera has completed “a first closing of our pooled fund recently for 2026.” He concluded: “I hope and I feel that this attraction will come back, that investors will invest heavily. The burden from the past is the success of tomorrow.” www.realassetinsight.com www.realassetmedia.com
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  Germany housing shortage drives micro-living and affordability strategy, Matthias Euler, Greystar 02.02.2026 3min

  Germany’s acute housing shortage, particularly in major cities such as Berlin, is driving growing demand for smaller, more affordable rental homes and reshaping development strategies across the market, according to Matthias Euler, managing director, Germany and Austria, at Greystar. Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Euler said: “I think the German residential market is one of the hottest at the moment in the world. In Germany, we have a huge lack of residential apartments. People are not finding apartments, especially in the metropolitan regions of the top seven, like Berlin.” He added: “Finding an apartment in Berlin is almost impossible.” Explaining Greystar’s response, Euler said: “So, what we do — we have two routes. On the one hand, we construct small micro-living apartments with a big part of amenities that people feel like at home. [They] have a first entrance into a residential market, like in Berlin, before they start to search for a long-term apartment.” He added: “So we are sort of a buffer.” Alongside this, the group is developing more basic housing for long-term residents. “On the other hand, we try to invest into projects which do not have any amenities — no furniture — to allow local people to find an apartment in the long term for lower rents,” he said. “Because we need to ask for rents of €20 to €25 per sq m to cover the construction costs.” Euler said that while these rent levels remain high, they are stabilising. “They are still high, but they’re stabilised,” he said. “We need a bigger lot size for a project to have a sort of a scaling effect that helps us to cover the costs and to use modular construction and prefab construction. And this is how we try to solve the situation.” He also pointed to financing constraints across Europe. “The main driver in Europe is the capital, the missing capital,” Euler said. “So, we see lots of developers who have very good ideas, very nice plots, but not the capital to get the construction done.” He added that this is where Greystar steps in “by capital injections with the global presence of Greystar”. Highlighting the group’s global platform, he said: “We are managing one million apartments worldwide, so we know how to collect equity and to place investors and help them to get invested into Germany. We know how to produce the reporting they are expecting as an institutional investor. So, we are sort of a filter from institutional capital to local presence and local projects.” Greystar’s operational background also shapes its development model. “Greystar is originally a property manager for residential apartments. We know exactly what they need,” Euler said. “So, we always have at least two full-time employees in the asset: the technical asset manager and a community manager.” He added that many schemes require redesign. “If we take a look at a plot, we first check the layouts, because normally they are too big, the apartments. They were planned for build to sell and not for build to rent,” he said. “So, we optimise them, we reduce the square metres, we make more units in one asset than originally planned.” This approach extends to student housing and short-term accommodation. “We also think about PBSA for students, really made for students,” Euler said. “The student has another need. They don’t need 30, 40 sq m in their apartment.” As a result, “for students, we think about 20 sq m for an apartment”, while larger units of 30 to 40 sq m are aimed at business travellers and project-based workers. Euler said this combination of targeted design, capital support, and operational expertise is central to addressing Germany’s housing shortage as development costs and funding constraints continue to weigh on new supply. www.realassetinsight.com www.realassetmedia.com
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  Periskop looks to expand into new European senior living markets: Alexander Fröse, Periskop Living 14.01.2026

  Alexander Fröse, managing partner and founder of Periskop Living, outlines the group’s plans to expand its senior living investment strategy beyond Germany and into new European markets. Speaking to Real Asset Media, Fröse said: “Periskop Living is headquartered in Berlin. It’s an investment management company just focused on health care, typically on senior living, which means care homes and assisted living facilities.” He said the firm is now looking to deploy capital more broadly across Europe. “We already wanted to invest outside of Germany, and we are looking forward to having more of a European outreach, which means potentially in the Netherlands and other countries where we will allocate our future equity as well.” Fröse highlighted the scale of Periskop’s existing platform and its vertically integrated structure, saying the group has built a fully integrated holding company and invested roughly €200 million in the senior living sector over recent years. The strategy remains focused on value creation through hands-on management of existing assets. “To really maximise value for the society and our investors and ourselves, we have primarily a focus on existing assets, which we can reposition in having a real proactive asset management approach,” Fröse said. He added that development opportunities may also be considered where scale and returns justify the approach. “We are open to looking into development sectors as well, and at asset classes, if the business case makes sense, and in the best case, is scalable.” For further information on Periskop Living: www.periskop.ag www.realassetinsight.com www.realassetmedia.com
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  Positive outlook for CRE lending as office market picks up in US, Helga Blum, Bayern LB 05.01.2026 1min

  Commercial real estate lending conditions in the US are beginning to improve, with early interest rate cuts and a gradual recovery in office demand expected to support increased acquisition and refinancing activity through 2026, according to Helga Blum, managing director and head of US real estate finance at BayernLB. Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO REAL in October 2025, Blum said the US lending market had endured a prolonged period of disruption following the pandemic but was now showing early signs of renewed momentum. “The commercial real estate lending market has been challenged in the United States as a result of the global pandemic, as we all know too well,” she said. “We’re finally starting to come out of that and are hopeful that the rate cuts that the Federal Reserve has started will actually spur additional activity in the US commercial real estate market, both in terms of acquisitions [and] refinancings.” Blum said the improving monetary environment was underpinning a more constructive outlook for the year ahead. “So overall, I’m quite hopeful for 2026 to be a good year,” she said. Office market performance, however, remains highly dependent on location, with sharp differences emerging between US coastal markets. “The office market is really very dependent on the geographic market that we’re talking about,” Blum said. She noted that several West Coast cities continue to face structural headwinds, with weaker leasing demand and higher vacancy rates persisting in major urban cores. “I think the West Coast markets, for the most part, remain somewhat challenged,” she said, pointing to Seattle, downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco. By contrast, Blum said conditions on the East Coast are improving, led by a recovery in New York City and strong demand for high-quality office assets. “On the East Coast, things are starting to look up, particularly in New York City,” she said. “We see some of the trophy quality office properties doing very well.” She highlighted strong occupancy levels in prime Midtown locations as a sign of renewed confidence in the office sector. “There’s hardly any vacancy in the Park Avenue corridor,” Blum said. “New York City is back, and most firms are mandating their employees to be back in the office four or five days a week, so that has definitely helped the office market.” www.realassetinsight.com www.realassetmedia.com
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  Huge demand for senior living in Germany, Kip Sloane, SCHÖNES LEBEN Group 30.12.2025 2min

  Germany’s senior living market is entering a period of rapid expansion, driven by accelerating demographic change, improving affordability, and a shift away from traditional nursing home models, according to Kip Sloane, managing director at SCHÖNES LEBEN Group. Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Sloane said the fundamentals supporting premium senior housing in Germany are now firmly in place, creating what he described as a rare window of opportunity for both operators and investors. “The market is a huge opportunity,” Sloane said. “We've got the right product, which is premium senior housing. Then we've got a huge demand accelerating [through] demographic change over the baby boomers.” He added that affordability is a critical part of the equation, distinguishing Germany from other European senior living markets. “People can actually pay for what they seek,” he said. “That is, for me, a huge momentum in the market, because the market structure has been kind of stiff throughout the last decade. And it's ripe for change and more development.” SCHÖNES LEBEN’s model focuses on premium living delivered as a central service, combining conventional rental housing with a wide range of on-site amenities. Apartments are unfurnished, typically around 70 sq m, and are designed to function as full private homes rather than care units. Residents can access a broad service offering, including housekeeping, facility management, and a 24-hour concierge. “We offer all the services you can think of,” Sloane said. “We’ve got a restaurant, a bar, a cafe, and we have utility spaces like a fitness area. We've got a sauna, maybe a swimming pool.” Care provision forms another core pillar of the concept, but Sloane stressed that SCHÖNES LEBEN does not operate nursing homes. Instead, care is delivered through mobile care and daycare services integrated into the residential environment. “I do have to explain that it's not a nursing home and that there are alternatives to nursing homes, which is, from a perspective of a customer, extremely important,” he said. “They want something different than a classical nursing home in 90% of the cases.” Once the concept is explained, it resonates quickly with residents and families, particularly when framed in a wider European context. “If one thinks of how do I want my Mum, my Dad, or myself to age, it snaps,” Sloane said. “I can just say, look at [integrated retirement communities] in the UK, just take a look over there, and then it's explainable.” From a regulatory perspective, Sloane said premium senior living offers significantly greater operational flexibility than traditional stationary care. “If you go into premium senior living, you basically don't have this high regulation,” he said. While rent legislation applies, he noted that mobile care is subject to far lighter regulation than nursing homes. “That makes it more flexible for me,” he said. “And I do have more niches for entrepreneurial freedom, which is always important on the operating side.” Looking ahead, SCHÖNES LEBEN has a substantial development pipeline already in place. “We have six more projects which have already been contractually signed, and which we will open throughout the next three years,” Sloane said. “And we're aiming at 10 to maybe, if all goes right, 15 new sites within the next five years.” www.shha.international www.realassetmedia.com
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  Combining indoor air quality and energy initiatives creates value: Jan-Kristian Westerlund, freesi 19.12.2025 2min

  Indoor air quality is emerging as a commercial and regulatory priority for real estate owners, with growing evidence that combining air quality monitoring with energy management can improve tenant retention, asset performance, and financial outcomes, according to Jan-Kristian Westerlund, chief commercial officer at freesi. Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Westerlund said indoor air quality has historically been under-appreciated in property investment, but is now gaining prominence following the Covid-19 pandemic and Europe’s energy crisis. “It’s a topic that is relatively new, so it needs more awareness,” he said. “However, after Covid and the energy crisis, it has increased in need through regulation.” Westerlund pointed to the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which will require indoor air quality monitoring and control in non-residential buildings across the EU. He said this regulatory shift has significantly accelerated adoption among property owners and managers. “The new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is now requiring implementation of indoor air quality monitoring and control in all non-residential assets,” he said. “This has increased the awareness tremendously.” Freesi works with a broad range of real estate stakeholders, from commercial portfolio owners to cities and municipalities, with its technology now used by more than 100 cities. Westerlund said the company’s focus extends beyond data collection to ensuring that insights are understood and acted on across organisations. “It’s about the people adopting, learning how to use the technology, and using it to make improvements for air quality in buildings,” he said. This requires engagement across the entire ownership and management chain, from facilities teams and tenants to asset managers and portfolio owners responsible for financial performance. “We work a lot with the stakeholders, from properties to facilities managers, to the actual tenants, to the asset managers who are commercially responsible for the buildings, and to portfolio owners who make them as financial products,” he said. While indoor air quality monitoring is increasingly driven by regulation, Westerlund said clients remain focused on commercial outcomes. Many landlords are integrating indoor climate management alongside heating, ventilation, and cooling optimisation to ensure that energy savings do not come at the expense of occupant health. “Whenever they’re doing energy management on heating, ventilation, and cooling, they will always implement indoor climate management to bring the safeguard that they never do it [while] compromising the health, well-being, and comfort of the people inside the buildings,” he said. Improved air quality also supports tenant engagement and retention, which Westerlund described as a critical driver of asset-level financial performance. “Through better tenant engagement and satisfaction, the landlords are able to retain their tenants for a longer time,” he said. “This, of course, is critical for the finances of the assets.” On the investment side, Westerlund said decision-making is increasingly data-driven, with financial metrics central to adoption. “Our decision makers are financial decision makers, so they need to see the numbers,” he said. “They need to see the net operating income, how it changes from this. They need to see how long is the payback time for implementing this.” At the same time, freesi also works closely with sustainability teams, particularly where indoor air quality data supports reporting on social and health-related ESG metrics. “This is a perfect way of making it tangible in an area that is otherwise a little bit difficult for real estate managers,” Westerlund said. www.realassetimpact.com www.realassetmedia.com