REflexions - Issue 3

Executive summary

In this edition of REflexions, we have focused on the European markets including interviews with two major players in the real estate market. The first interview is with Ardian Capital who recently expanded its core business lines to include a fifth pillar focussing on real estate. Find out the reasons behind the expansion and their views on future trends. The second interview is with Merlin Properties, the Spanish giant who concentrates on the acquisition and management of prime commercial properties in the Iberian peninsula. Read what the founder member’s thoughts are on why REITs play such an important role in the evolution of the Spanish market. To complement these interviews, our number crunchers have provided a detailed analysis on the continuing evolution of the European investment market.

The Italian economy is getting onto the path of recovery following the recent implementation of various political, economic and institutional reforms all aimed to stimulating growth. Do you know which Italian city had an increase of more than 200% in investment volume in comparison to 2014? No, well perhaps unsurprisingly (for those who invest in Italy) it is not the capital! Last but not least we concentrate on the introduction of the RAIF – Reserved Alternative Investment Fund – which is seen not only as a substantial innovation for Luxembourg but also a key driver in competing with other offshore investment structures once the AIFMD passport is extended. With the same objective, Ireland introduced the ICAV – Collective Asset Management Vehicle – which is covered in the second part of the article.

In this issue

• Exploring new shores
  Ardian Real Estate in the spotlight
• The Italian real estate market
  The road to recovery
• Continental shift
  The continuing evolution of the European investment market
• New alternative investment vehicles rising
  Exploring RAIF and ICAV
• Commercial Real Estate Redefined
  How the nexus of technology advancements and consumer behavior will disrupt the industry
• Opportunities ahead
  Interview with Ismael Clemente of Merlin Properties