LONDON: With its striking facade, Palazzo delle Poste in the heart of Milan is one of the more elegant office spaces in Europe, hosting the likes of JPMorgan and Italy's first ever Starbucks outlet.
"Direct investments in prestigious income properties represent an opportunity in terms of diversification and return, as demonstrated by the growing interest of our ultra-high-net-worth clients," said Angelo Vigano, head of Mediobanca Private Banking.Many investors are betting real estate returns will outstrip equities and bonds as the world emerges from its pandemic funk.
Inflation is"a slow-burning fire hanging over financial assets, but it's a tailwind for real assets such as real estate", said Mike Kelly, head of multi-asset at PineBridge Investments, which bought Britain-based real estate fund manager Benson Elliott last October.
"Particularly in response to the pandemic, employee safety and wellbeing is at the forefront of tenants' minds."The challenge of finding the right investment is considerable. Many big city-centre employers such as HSBC and Standard Chartered plan to cut their office footprint by up to 40per cent. "These trends should protect 'core' buildings at the expense of more marginal assets," Kennedy added.
Creative repurposing has morphed more than 200 U.S. shopping malls into warehouses, hospitals and even colleges.