It does feel like the world is pointing a big fat arrow towards Europe currently as the region’s economies seemingly stabilize while opportunities recede in the US.
That much was in evidence last month at the annual property blowout called MIPIM in Cannes. And, as the picture of a bright yellow Ferrari 458 Spider we carry on page 22 within our coverage reflects, there was a supercar-sized load of testosterone on display, as the world’s real estate investment moguls were concentrated along a mile of beach front property to network, do deals, party and pose.
We hope you will enjoy our spread from MIPIM, but if you are also into a less glitzy and more sober take on Europe’s market, then have a read of this year’s European Roundtable from page 38 onwards. Our in-depth discussion in London took place at the European headquarters of CBRE, and the key take-away was that investors in Europe are increasingly looking to take on more risk to adjust for growing demand and inflated pricing for core property in key cities.
However, as if you needed reminding, private equity real estate is a truly global business, and we have plenty of reporting from the Americas and Asia in these pages also.
As highlights go, it is well worth paying special heed to Evelyn Lee’s analysis on page 10 of what US interest rate rises mean for institutional investors. This was a huge talking point at the PREA Spring Conference in Boston on March 19, and Evelyn’s discussion of what the trend means for real estate investors is characteristically insightful.
Meanwhile in Asia, there is plenty to analyse from the sale of Aviva Investors’ regional real estate investment management business to Global Logistic Properties’ latest fundraise and deal that will add $2.5 billion of fresh capital to its China platform. And we also have our monthly Blueprint interview on page 30. For this issue, PERE’s Jonathan Brasse met the duo behind Hong Kong-based Phoenix Property Investors, who recently raised their largest fund since setting up shop back in 2002.
One thing that everyone profiled and quoted in this issue has of course in common is the fact that the environment they work in is profoundly unpredictable. And investors taking more risk means the likelihood of things going wrong is increasing too, which means caution and good thinking are essential. It’s the sort of climate in which some will inevitably crash and burn, whilst others call it right and end up driving off in luxury motors, yellow or otherwise. Place your bets wisely, and you could soon be one of them.
Good luck and enjoy the issue,
Robin Marriott
Editor, PERE
robin.m@peimedia.com
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