Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2016 | Page 68
Photos: Paul Charpentier
Real Estate Investor Day by Eversheds:
‘Cash-in-quick’ opportunities
are gone – but the blue-collar
investor may well be rewarded
Eversheds’ Real Estate Investor Day in Helsinki attracted a good crowd of industry professionals to
Restaurant Pörssi in November. As the biggest real estate law practice in Europe, Eversheds is in a solid
position to evaluate where the industry is now – and where it’s going next.
J
ose Pellicer, Head of Research, Rockspring UK, got the ball rolling in earnest by talking about opportunities in
Europe. He noted that Rockspring exited
from Finland a good while back, but was
eager to see if the time was ripe for a comeback. In his eyes, Helsinki is a bit different
from other European capitals:
“Helsinki is clearly a tenant’s market,
whereas the rest of Europe is a landlord’s
market,” he summed up.
be that locomotive, but now China must step
aside for the US.”
As for the Old Continent, Pellicer noted that we’re building very little.
Whether you’re talking about shopping centres or offices, the development is lagging.
There are investors out there – there always
are – but they don’t know what to do with
their money:
“There’s a chronic lack of quality real
estate in Europe.”
America Goes First
Super Prime in Trouble
According to Pellicer, Europe is a “lowgrowth zone” and will remain so for some
time to come:
“We’re not out of the crisis yet,” he
said, adding that debt and external risks may
continue to hold back growth, while America is happily back on growth path. The success of the Americans is still a good thing,
since the world economy needs a strong
locomotive:
“For 15 years, we looked to China to
Also, Pellicer noted that buyers from emerging markets are harder to find now. As oilproducing countries got stung by falling oil
prices, they’re less likely to buy, say, a skyscraper – or five – in London City. It’s this
super prime real estate that is now at risk,
as there are not that many buyer candidates
with truly deep pockets willing to pay hefty
prices.
“Opportunities are in the middle of
the market – and this involves getting your
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hands dirty and delivering the asset management gains,” Pellicer said, pointing out
that local knowledge is key in the European
markets right now.
Still, some companies are doing better than ever and investing in big shiny
headquarters. Case in point: Facebook UK
just purchased a 250,000 premises just off
Oxford Street in London. Eversheds helped
Facebook to seal the deal.
Block Out the White Noise
Bruce Dear, Head of Eversheds London Real
Estate team, noted that the Facebook deal is
a good example of high-profile new-build,
but that’s only one part of the story:
“There are opportunities in every phase
of the cycle,” he said, warning against losing
heart. With sometimes conflicting signals,
it’s important to follow your own vision.
“One must be able to rise above the market
cycle’s white noise.”
Sometimes attention turns to the wrong
things. Yes, it’s true that capital value has