The belief that recovery in 2012 will be a marathon, not a sprint – and good luck to everyone competing in Sunday’s London race – intensified this week.
Research from Jones Lang LaSalle shows direct investment in retail real estate for the first quarter of 2012 will come in around €3.8bn. The same quarter in 2011 delivered €9.9bn, while the last quarter of 2011 saw volumes hit €8.4bn.
Notably, there have been few large transactions – the first quarter of last year saw the €1.8bn Trafford Centre deal, for instance. The equivalent deal of Q1 2012 was Resolution’s purchase of Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh for a comparatively paltry €108m.
Limited access to debt finance is having an effect, of course. But lingering economic uncertainty in and around the eurozone is too. And where fear persists, contagion is the risk.
It’s not isolated to retail either. Despite reporting strong growth in its fund management business this week, Grosvenor group chief executive Mark Preston said: “We do not expect 2012 to be the year in which everything becomes clear.”
We have by no means hit “the wall”, but there are plenty of strides to be taken yet in this marathon recovery.
At a British Property Federation/Movers & Shakers event this week, Brockton Capital co-founder David Marks conceded that private equity had to do a better job in explaining what it does and why it does it. He then proceeded to make the case.
Brockton’s accountability to investors makes it as transparent as a listed REIT. Some of his biggest backers are pension funds, meaning it returns as much societal value as a landed estate.
Meanwhile, the likes of Blackstone, through its investments in the likes of Center Parcs, is as involved in sustainable job creation as any company.
There is some way to go in convincing the man in the street of the virtues of private equity judged against other corporate structures. But for progress to be made Marks’s cannot be a lone voice.
EG delivers a first look this week at the images Almacantar will be using as it seeks to convince the people and politicians of Camden that converting Centre Point from offices to resi is the only way of securing a long-term future for the iconic tower.
In an interview at the latest Estates Gazette/Profile Network Face to Face event this week, Mike Hussey was on ebullient form. Nevertheless, he has his work cut out in selling his vison to the council.
Yet what else would politicians have done with the 1960s tower? Even Battersea Power Station, an even more troublesome icon, appears to have several possible futures, from mixed-use development or concert venue to urban park or football stadium – a project that Mr Property (look him up on Twitter if you don’t know what that means) is also involved in.
Congratulations to the Estates Gazette editorial team, which has been nominated in three categories in the Oscars of the magazine industry, the PPA Awards. We’re up for Business Magazine of the Year, Business Media Brand of the Year and Business Editor of the Year.
It follows recent award wins for our tireless production desk, the all-new EGi (Property Portal of the Year, no less) and for our reporting team, not least retail and residential reporter Annabel Dixon, named Rising Star of the Year at the LSL Property Press Awards.
More importantly, lest this recognition goes to our heads, it comes alongside great feedback from our readers and online users.
EG’s new residential page and new-look market section have been well-received, while EGi’s new building reports are proving invaluable for many. Meanwhile, iPad users are finding our new app makes reading on the move a joy rather than a chore. Our retail supplements, MIPIM daily editions, EG London and the 2012 EG Power List are all available via the app: simply search “Estates Gazette” in the App Store.
