REflexions - Issue 9

Welcome to the ninth edition of REflexions, packed full of insights into the real estate industry. To the outside world, real estate is generally perceived as the buildings we live, work, shop and socialize in; to us experts, it is so much more — it is a complicated and specialized industry that drives change and pushes us beyond the standard perception of four walls and a roof.

With this in mind, we are thrilled to present a review of our Real Estate Predictions for 2019 — our views on what the future holds. We hope you find this insightful.

How many of you have heard about digital twinning? We’ve all heard of town twinning where towns and cities are “twinned” across the world; a modern concept started after the Second World War to foster friendship and understanding, plus encourage trade and tourism. So is there a link between town twinning and digital twinning? Both certainly involve linking customers and assets together. Make up your own mind by reading what our experts have to say on the subject.

Continuing on the theme of intriguing links, what about the impact of driverless cars on commercial real estate properties? In fact, we believe there could be significant positive impacts in store for the future. Think about the potential (re)development and/ or repurposing opportunities that driverless cars could bring — the freeing-up of car parks in prime location, reduced need for wide streets and more efficient traffic management. Wider use of driverless vehicles will change location dynamics of real estate, so don’t be the last in the queue.

Buzzwords exist in every industry, sector and niche. Some are intrinsically intertwined into the fabric of our professional lives such as BEPS, ATAD and AIFMD; others transcend industries such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Operational transformation is another phrase that comes up regularly in the financial sector, but what of its impact on RE? We are sometimes considered as relatively late adopters of this phenomenon, but our interview with Pierre Sémont, Chief Transformation Office at AXA IM-Real Assets should give you food for thought.

In this issue

• Operations transformation
  Setting the course for the future
  
• Digital twinning in real estate
  Humanizing buildings with Industry 4.0
  
• ATAD II
  Ringing in the changes
  
• Real estate predictions 2019
  A constructive view on real estate
  
• Infrastructure fund structuring:
  new rules for a (not so) old game
  
• Take the wheel
  How CRE can prepare for the implications of driverless vehicles