‘Glass-half-full’ view of 2022 as ESG and data top to-do list

Regular RealCast contributor Dan Innes, founder and MD of marketing and communications agency Innesco reflects on 2021 and takes a view on prospects for the year ahead.

“2021 has been the one of the more remarkable years,” he told Real Asset Insight’s Richard Betts. “Real estate has bounced back a little, new markets are emerging, new sectors are growing.”

Some investors are even returning to retail. Examples include the purchase of Silverburn outside Glasgow and Touchwood in Solihull.

“There are already signs that 2022 could be one of our best years ever,” Innes said.

He’s cautiously optimistic: “We are already seeing that investors in the capital markets are very keen to acquire major assets and marquee assets, not just in the UK but in continental Europe and to continue development projects in the Middle East and North America – I think the outlook does look positive.”

And the indicators point beyond 2022. “These cycles are not 12-month cycles, they are two to three to five year cycles, and so we’re already involved with many assets and investments that have a completion date in 2023 or 2024, so I would certainly say ‘glass half full’ for 2022.”

ESG remains at the top of the list of discussion points. But the application of data science to real estate is also in the spotlight. “I’m very conscious that many of the largest real estate companies are continuing with legacy business models and the introduction of data at this stage is going to be a big leap for some of those companies,” Innes said. “But I’m confident that 2022 could be the year that we see data really coming of age.”

Click on the video to watch the full interview or listen to the podcast below.