Realcast: ESG to the fore at Expo, UK likes its leisure, muted enthusiasm for US offices

In the spotlight this week:

More than 19,000 people turned up at Expo Real, one of the first major real estate shows to be staged live since the start of the health crisis.

Many of these participants also attended a packed programme of Real Asset Media investment briefings staged during the event and covering a wide range of topics. One common thread through the many of these events was the growing significance of ESG which, it seems, is shaping agendas in all property segments. Another common theme was that while offices are here to stay, a drive is needed to make them more attractive to the workforce.

In the meantime, leisure has a big part to play in post-pandemic UK it seems: announcements of major projects were made in Blackpool and Manchester.

Elsewhere, Oxford Properties made a big-ticket acquisition of two logistics portfolios in Denmark and France. Such large deals are part of the reason for the post-pandemic recovery underway in European real estate investment markets observes CBRE. All major markets except for France saw an uptick in Q3 investment volumes.

While there is plenty of optimism on the other side of the Atlantic, one fly in the ointment could be that office markets are considered unlikely to revert to pre-pandemic activity in 2022 because working from home has been too successful. That is according to the US version of the ULI/PwC Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. The survey does however indicate that the flood of capital is nevertheless likely to continue into real estate.

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