PERE Global Awards: And the nominations are…

After weeks of deliberation, we can reveal the organizations and individuals nominated for PERE’s prestigious private real estate industry awards.

The time has come for us to reveal the nominations for the 2018 PERE Global Awards.

As the year draws to a close, it is once more time to honor the private real estate organizations and individuals that had a major effect on the industry in the last 12 months.

It was a year burdened with ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic situations – the US-China trade war, Britain’s EU withdrawal and Qatar’s enforced diplomatic isolation to name a few – that nevertheless saw a record amount of real estate investing. Global broker Cushman & Wakefield estimated it at $1.8 trillion in the 12 months to October, up 18 percent year-on-year, with institutional capital accounting for a large share of it.

Private real estate investors, their managers and advisors have spent the year positioning portfolios for a through-cycle period. They are opting to focus on today’s real estate fundamentals and on how commercial space can be best used tomorrow. They are agreed that a downturn is in the offing in the near-to-medium-term and therefore have let technology and demographics underpin many of their largest bets.

No property sector has escaped disruption, whether it be the impact of e-commerce on the retail and logistics sectors, flexible working behaviors on office space, or the impact of ‘generation rent’ and the shared economy on residential. Considering the myriad challenges facing specific property types, this year’s awards have six new Investor of the Year categories: Office, Retail, Logistics, Residential, Hotels and Leisure, and Alternatives.

The categories are growing and so are the submissions. There were more than 200 entries from organizations vying to be noticed – and at a notably high standard. PERE’s regional panels comprising Editorial and Research & Analytics staff had a tough time putting together the shortlists, and the voting will be no easier.

In the global categories, it will be fascinating to see which of Blackstone, Greystar, GLP or Brookfield take the crown for Firm of the Year; Japan’s SoftBank is a notable candidate in the Deal category for its investments in flexible working giants WeWork and its purchase of private equity firm Fortress Investment Group. In Investor of the Year, it is a case of Canada versus Asia as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ivanhoé Cambridge fight it out with Singapore’s GIC and Softbank; will Korea’s IGIS beat Hong Kong’s Gaw Capital for the first Office award? Gaw faces off with Brookfield, among others, in the Retail category and the UK’s Delancey is competing for the Residential gong for its efforts with multifamily brand Get Living.

In the Americas, it is Blackstone versus Blackstone in the Deal category, while in Europe, Hines is competing for the Firm, Industry Figure and the France and Italy country awards. In Asia, Gaw is in the mix once again, battling private equity firm Warburg Pincus in the Firm category and with itself in the Deal category thanks to its Cityplaza portfolio purchase and PCP Beijing sales – both deals also appear in the China category.

Voting starts now and runs until Friday, 11 January. Please remember: own-firm votes will be discarded, as will votes from personal emails and block votes too – these awards are heavily policed so use corporate emails only please.

Which firms and individuals will prevail as 2018 PERE Global Award winners? We cannot wait to find out. So, without further ado, we declare the voting officially open.

It is time for you to decide who deserves to triumph.

To vote, click here.