Rikke Lykke, group CEO, DEAS Group

Rikke Lykke DEAS Group
Rikke Lykke, DEAS Group

How would you describe the 2023 real estate year?

For me, 2023 can be described as digital transformation. It was a year where we accelerated digital innovation – not only in DEAS Group, but in the whole real estate industry. Our colleagues from the rest of the industry are also moving in the same digital direction. This is really positive, as there is a need for the industry as a whole to move towards the future and open up to the array of digital opportunities and solutions that lie ahead of us.

Digital developments in 2023 include proptech innovations, new data-driven projects in combination with AI, new digital sustainability technology and methods and, not least, new strategic partnerships that open up a whole variety of solutions, benefiting both tenants and investors.

Specifically in 2023, we at DEAS Group entered into a new partnership with the largest Danish electric vehicle charging station operator Clever. This partnership aims to ease the transition to EVs with access to charging points for people living in properties we manage.

Sustainability is also an agenda we have been developing at DEAS Group and in the real estate industry. Especially preparing for new EU-requirements of documenting different aspects of sustainability.

What are the main challenges facing the sector and your company in 2024?

In 2024, like many other industries, the real estate sector faces new demands to document sustainability. To meet and fulfil regulations such as the EU Taxonomy, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Renewable Energy Directive, data and screening work will be essential.

Even though the industry has spent the past few years preparing, it’s still a big task that awaits us. Fortunately, sustainability is an agenda that is taken very seriously. At DEAS Group we welcome these requirements, and along with the rest of the industry, aim to lead the way.

DEAS Group has one of the largest sustainability departments in the Nordics within our industry. We are already well underway in providing the necessary data and have had the first data sheets approved in the autumn for the initial EU Taxonomy targets. I sense a desire to make a difference and courage among the investors we advise and collaborate with, so I expect an exciting year where we will put even more emphasis on sustainability.

Concerning real estate, we have entered 2024 with continued uncertainty, and many colleagues are still wondering which direction the year will take – with good reason. I believe it’s important that we maintain the optimism and not let the uncertainty stall our innovation.

What are likely to be the chief positive influences on strategy in 2024?

In 2024, DEAS will implement additional digital solutions that will continue to shape and improve the way we manage properties for the benefit of tenants and investors. We will explore more opportunities for strategic partnerships to enable more unique digital solutions.

I have high expectations for the positive impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on the industry. We have already successfully launched the first automated solutions and spent 2023 working on various new AI models that can manage time-consuming tasks. In 2024 we will be testing use of AI even more broadly. For instance, we are testing how AI can assist our legal department in identifying and matching similar cases to increase quality and efficiency of decision-making.

We will also continue to engage with colleagues in the European real estate industry. I believe that through partnerships and collaborations across industries, we can stimulate a broader and more diverse ecosystem. The tenants we serve are not just individuals needing a home or a workplace – they have many and varied needs, and we want to be part of fulfilling them.

Sustainability also plays a significant and substantial role in our strategy. This is a given with the EU requirements mentioned earlier, but more importantly, the demand for qualified advice on sustainable property solutions is increasing.

What changes in direction (perhaps in terms of emphasis on sectors or geography, or the scope of your activities) have you made or do you envisage making in response to the fresh challenges, regulations, opportunities or technologies that have emerged in the last year or so? 

In addition to digital innovation and sustainability, diversity is a topic that occupied me in 2023. To achieve a greater degree of diversity in our industry, it is crucial to challenge our own preconceptions and actively seek diversity in expertise.

Specifically, at DEAS Group, we aim to hire individuals who may not necessarily have been shaped or educated in the real estate sector. We see this as an obvious method to bring in new thoughts and methods to the company.

DEAS is already well on its way, but there is always room for improvement. Fundamentally, it’s about recognising and embracing differences, not just in terms of the standard DEI factors such as different ages, races, ethnicities, abilities, disabilities, genders, religions, cultures and sexual orientations. It is also about thoughts and perspectives.

We should avoid recruiting and promoting profiles that solely resemble “ourselves”. This requires a conscious effort to create a more inclusive and diverse work environment where different backgrounds and experiences are a strength, not a barrier. This has increasingly become an implicit behaviour and value at DEAS Group, and it improves our business while also contributing to a more diverse and inclusive industry as a whole.

Looking back at 2023, what has given you the greatest inspiration for the year ahead?

Due to the challenges we and the industry faced in 2023, we had to innovate and find new paths for ourselves. 

The ability to meet changing demands and expectations has given DEAS Group an important push in that direction. It has been a challenging, but also a learning experience for us. Fortunately, this hasn’t been entirely new to us, as we are an organisation amid a positive transformation that has already made us much more digital and modern.

I will carry this into this year, where we should not lean back, but maintain the innovation momentum we have.

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