Business Immo, the real estate website

Hans Vrensen

Head of Research & Strategy

AEW Europe

Investment fund - Investor / Asset management

Last update April 16, 2021 | Report an error

Ludovic Charpentier

Managing Director - Head of Separate Accounts

Alex Griffiths

Executive Director, Investor Relations

Russell Jewell

Managing Director - Head of European Private Equity Funds

Tracy Jones

Head of Fund Operations and Debt Finance

Jane Petrie

Pan-European Retail Asset Management Director

Tim Sankey

Managing Director - Head of Separate Accounts

Jonathan Stevens

Head of Private Debt

Alexander Strassburger

Executive Director, Private Equity Investment

Frédérique Weber

Country Manager Netherlands

Rob Wilkinson

Chief Executive Officer

Matilda Williams

Director, Investor Relations

Housing

French residential market offers opportunities in Paris and beyond

French institutions have a low exposure to their residential sector in comparison to German and Dutch investors in their domestic markets. This offers the (...)

Investment

France to lead European recovery

・France is projected to post a strong increase in GDP growth in the next five years, while German and UK growth is shifting down (...)

Investment

Secondary benefits as non-core loan sales continue a pace

Ten years after the GFC, new data shows that 2017 set a new annual record for non-core real estate loan sales at €104bn, with (...)

Investment

2018 European market outlook – Fundamentals driving fears away

With recent political uncertainty and the prolonged unwind of the GFC, focus remains on downside risks.   Our outlook shows robust economic fundamentals are driving (...)

Investment

German Open Ended Funds - Discount expected to remain high

German open-ended funds (GOEFs) hold EUR 81bn of property assets across the globe. Nearly 16% or EUR 12.8bn of these are to be sold (...)

Retail

Record volume expected in 2015 - Q4 2014

Economic turmoil seems now to be history. Europe economy is gaining momentum with GDP, retail sales and consumer spending back to positive territory all (...)

Office

Poland Office : Strong leasing activity - Q4 2014

The total office stock in Poland (Warsaw and eight major regional markets) amounts to 7.55 million sq m (as of the end of 2014). Warsaw (...)

Office

Stockholm : Improved sentiment translating into deals - Q4 2014

The latest data confirms that the Swedish economy has continued to recover. The Purchasing Managers Index declined slightly in January but remains above 50 (...)

Investment

Asia Pacific Fair Value Index : Loose monetary policies boost appeal of property - Q4 2014

DTZ’s Asia Pacific Fair Value Index™ rose slightly in Q4 2014 to 56, indicating that Asia Pacific property has become more attractive for investors. According (...)

Investment

Germany : Booming market - Q4 2014

New investment in commercial properties and development sites totalled EUR 14.37bn in the fourth quarter and consequently reached the third highest quarterly volume of (...)

Investment

UK Fair Value Index : Oil price plunge a boost for UK property - Q4 2014

DTZ’s UK Fair Value Index™ increased to 72 in Q4 2014 from 64 in Q3, meaning that UK property has become more attractively priced (...)

Investment

Dubai : Market stabilisation after period of recovery - Q4 2014

Dubai GDP grew by 3.1% in the first half of 2014 and is expected to continue to grow. Dubai office stock had reached 6.5 million (...)

Office

Asia Pacific : Monetary easing to support occupier demand - Q4 2014

Over the last quarter, more Asian countries embraced looser monetary policies. Together with the launch of quantitative easing in Europe, the widespread global easing (...)

Office

Bengaluru : flurry of activity as the year closes - Q4 2014

Positive growth in the real estate sector returned in Q4 2014, with take-up in Grade-A office space bouncing back to 2011 levels of ~35 (...)

Office

Berlin : Record take-up on office market - Q4 2014

At 656,000 sq m, Berlin had the highest take-up of the Top 5 markets in 2014. This result also marks the highest level in (...)

Investment

Sweeden : Strongest quarter since records began - Q4 2014

The commercial property investment market in Sweden rounded off its strongest quarter in 12 years with a record high transaction volume of SEK 64 (...)

Office

Bristol snapshot : Q4 office take-up largest since 1988 - Q4 2014

Occupier sentiment increased dramatically in the second half of the year as Q4 recorded the highest take up in stock, in a quarter, since (...)

Investment

Japan : 2014 investment volume hits new high - Q4 2014

Total commercial real estate investment transactions (excluding residential and hotel properties) in Japan sharply increased in Q4 2014 compared to Q3. Volume in Q4 (...)

Investment

Australia : Investment volume sets another post-GFC peak - Q4 2014

Commercial real estate investment in Australia ended 2014 on a high note, with $8.1bn invested over the quarter. This is a 27% increase on (...)

Office

Delhi NCR: business sentiment improving - Q4 2014

Positive growth in the real estate sector returned in Q4 2014, with take-up in Grade-A office space bouncing back to 2011 levels of ~35 (...)

Office

Brisbane CBD snapshot : looming supply to keep vacancy elevated - Q4 2014

Limited supply has been added to the Brisbane CBD market over the past two years. New supply in 2014, at less than 5,000 sq (...)

Office

Birmingham snapshot : office take-up rises dramatically in H2 2014 - Q4 2014

Occupier sentiment continued to improve during 2014 with take up during H2 reaching 497,000 sq ft which represents the strongest half year take up (...)

Retail

Small cities dominate the market - H2 2014

Total modern retail stock in Poland exceeded 12.7 million sq m at the end of 2014. New supply in 2014 exceeded 466,000 sq m of (...)

Office

Cardiff snapshot : grade A office take-up boosts 2014 - Q4 2014

Occupier sentiment has much improved, with city centre transaction volumes far greater in 2014 than the previous 12 months. This is largely down to (...)

Office

Edinburgh snapshot : Record take-up despite referendum - Q4 2014

Office take-up in Edinburgh exceeded 754,000 sq ft in 2014, the highest on record, despite the interruption of the referendum in September. After H1, when (...)

Investment

Poland : Another strong year

2014 was another strong year in the investment market in Poland, with a total of EUR 3.03 billion having been transacted in the commercial (...)

Office

Glasgow snapshot : take-up increases after "no" vote - Q4 2014

Occupational activity slowed over the summer months in the lead up to the referendum as those that could hold off did so. After the “no” (...)

Office

Melbourne CBD Office : strong investment volumes - Q4 2014

New supply of 113,679 sq m is estimated to have been added in 2014, which is a decline of 42% from the 196,965 sq (...)

Office

Hyderad : Improving occupier sentiments - Q4 2014

Positive growth in the real estate sector returned in Q4 2014, with take-up in Grade-A office space bouncing back to 2011 levels of ~35 (...)

Office

Zurich : CBD continues to suffer - Q3 2014

Despite an ever more obvious lack in sufficient demand for large-scale vacancy in the CBD, landlords are failing to further correct asking rents and (...)

Office

Manchester snapshot : record yeard of take-up thanks to strong H1 - Q4 2014

Occupier sentiment continued to improve in the city centre with a strong Q4 finish making 2014 a record year in take-up. The rising demand (...)

Office

Kolkata : Improvement in take-up activity - Q4 2014

Positive growth in the real estate sector returned in Q4 2014, with take-up in Grade-A office space bouncing back to 2011 levels of ~35 (...)

Office

Manchester snapshot : record yeard of take-up thanks to strong H1 - Q4 2014

Occupier sentiment continued to improve in the city centre with a strong Q4 finish making 2014 a record year in take-up. The rising demand (...)

Office

European Office Market Linkages and Spillovers

This study focuses on the return linkages and volatility spillover effects between 16 major office markets in Europe over the period 2003-2013. We find (...)

Investment

United States : Invest now while pricing remains attractive - Q3 2014

U.S. commercial real estate investment reached USD66bn in Q3 2014. This took rolling annual volumes to a new pre-crisis level of USD270bn, a 20% (...)

Retail

Europe Retail & Shopping Centre : Record volume in 2015 - Q3 2014

Europe is emerging from the crisis with positive GDP, retail sales and consumer spending growth forecast for the next five years. But, the speed (...)

Office

Who owns China Grade A office market Corporations & listed developers hold growing share

The tier I office market in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen has undergone a phase of dynamic expansion over the past nine years, during (...)

Investment

Asia Pacific Transaction Price Index : Prices reach new record high - Q3 2014

  DTZ Research is pleased to launch the first Asia Pacific Transaction Based Price Index (TBPI). Our index shows that Asia Pacific commercial property (...)

Office

Asia Pacific Offices : Occupier demand increases - Q3 2014

Economic momentum in Asia Pacific was largely subdued in the third quarter. Most of the macroeconomic indicators released in Q3 showed disappointing growth, paving (...)

Investment

European Transaction Price Index : Recovery on continent as UK breaks new records - Q3 2014

Prices for European commercial real estate were up 7% over the third quarter, according to our latest DTZ European Transaction based price index. Growth is (...)

Investment

China : Building acquisition drops in third quarter - Q3 2014

Total investment volume dropped 22.1% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to be recorded at US$28.4bn. Most notably, investment in the building segment plunged 59.4% q-o-q or 63.6% year-on-year (...)

Housing

Singapore residential demand : Secondary market activity holds up better in Q3 - Q3 2014

Transactions of private homes fell by 32% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to 2,722 units in Q3. Primary sales took a larger hit in Q3, declining by (...)

Logistics

Germany : take-up increases - Q3 2014

In the third quarter of 2014, 1.31 m sq m warehouse space was newly let or passed to owner-occupiers through purchases or start of (...)

Investment

Italy : Non-European activity boosts the investment volume - Q3 2014

The summer period has seen the Italian investment market activity rebound after a disappointing Q2. Volume reached EUR964m of transactions over the last quarter, (...)

Logistics

UK : Manufacturing take-up share lowest since 2010 - Q3 2014

Total take-up in Q3 reached just over 9m sq ft, up 2.5m sq ft on Q2. Take-up from manufacturing companies totalled 1.2m sq ft (...)

Investment

Europe : Asian inflows drive volumes higher - Q3 2014

European commercial real estate investment reached EUR39.2bn in Q3 2014. This took rolling annual volumes to EUR 168bn, a 24% increase on the same (...)

Logistics

E-tailing and logistics : Online spend kick-starts spec development

After a period of low activity, developers are seizing the opportunity to build industrial space speculatively again. This is focussed almost exclusively in the (...)

Office

Hamburg : A further increase in take-up - Q3 2014

Take-up on the Hamburg office market improved by 14,700 sq m (+11%) to 145,000 sq m compared with the previous quarter. As in the (...)

Office

Berlin still very much in demand - Q3 2014

In the third quarter of 2014, leases and owner-occupier contracts for a total space of 139,500 sq m were concluded in Berlin. Consequently, take-up (...)

Investment

Germany : Focus on office properties - Q3 2014

Purchases of commercial properties and development sites totalled €25.47bn up to the end of September 2014, thus reaching the highest 9-month value since 2007. (...)

Investment

UK Retail Warehouses : Weight of money propels investment volumes - Q3 2014

Retail warehouse investment transactions so far in 2014 are at £2.21bn (85 centres), significantly above the same period in 2013 where 42 centres transacted, (...)

Office

Prague : Highest supply in the last 7 years expected in 2015 - Q3 2014

Quarterly gross take-up was the strongest since Q2 2011 but this was mainly because of the renegotiation of Česká Pojišťovna on two properties in (...)

Investment

Spain : Investment heats up with SOCIMI push - Q3 2014

The third quarter of the year saw commercial investment skyrocket to over €2.8 Bn. During the third quarter Spanish Socimis (REITs) ramped up investment. Investment (...)

Office

Melbourne CBD : Office investment underpins surge in volumes - Q3 2014

The national economy decelerated over Q2 2014, with growth of 0.5% compared to 1.1% in Q1. The state economy recorded 1.2% growth in State (...)

Office

North China : Beijing office rental pushed up by CBD - Q3 2014

Beijing – grade A office rental pushed up by CBD, with increase of 1.94% In Q3 2014, Beijing grade A office rents rose 1.94% quarter-on-quarter (...)

Office

Madrid : Large occupiers reinforce take-up - Q3 2014

Take-up increased from Q2, to reach 90,000 sq m (Figure 2). Additionally, this is a large change on the third quarter from the previous (...)

Office

East China : Shanghai office rental bucks trend - Q3 2014

Shanghai – Grade A office rental sees a slight rise In Q3 2014, we witnessed the citywide grade A office rental in Shanghai reverse (...)

Investment

South East Asia : Property companies turn net sellers - Q3 2014

Real estate investment activity in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand came in at USD5.2bn in Q3, on par with the amount invested in Q2. In (...)

Office

Bangkok : Swift rebound across major property sectors - Q3 2014

 Thailand’s economy rebounded in Q2 with a 0.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth. GDP growth turned positive in the second quarter and was largely supported by (...)

Office

Jakarta : Better outlook for office sector - Q3 2014

Indonesia’s economic growth continued to slow in Q2 with year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 5.1%, as investment and exports growth slowed. Despite political uncertainty surrounding (...)

Investment

Japan : Volumes down while market remains buoyant - Q3 2014

Total commercial real estate investment transactions (excluding residential and hotel properties) decreased further by 22% to JPY547 billion in Q3 2014, from JPY699 billion (...)

Investment

Singapore : Mixed outlook across all sectors - Q3 2014

Based on advanced estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Singapore economy grew moderately by 2.4% year-on-year (y-o-y), and 1.2% quarter-on-quarter (...)

Office

Hong Kong : Strata-title office sales active in non-core areas - Q3 2014

Office market activities were mostly driven by mid-sized professional services companies and finance companies that were actively looking for office space for in-house expansion (...)

Office

Brisbane CBD : Further softening in vacancy - Q3 2014

The national economy decelerated over Q2 2014, with growth of 0.5% compared to 1.1% in Q1. The Queensland economy recorded 0.4% growth in State (...)

Investment

Australia : Volumes continue to soar, yields compress - Q3 2014

Investment in Australian commercial real estate continues to soar, with $10.7bn invested in Q3 2014. As at the end of Q3, the year-to-date investment (...)

Investment

Czech Republic : Volume driven by logistics - Q3 2014

DTZ believes that the total investment volume could reach up to €2bn in the year 2014 thanks to strong investor activity in Q3 and (...)

Investment

The Great Wall of Money - Opportunities becoming more time limited

Total available capital for investment globally grew 15% over the last six months to USD408bn. This is the highest on record since we first (...)

Investment

German Open Ended Funds - Record discounts as sales accelerate

German open-ended funds (GOEFs) hold EUR 82bn of property assets across the globe. Nearly 20% or EUR 16bn of these are to be sold (...)

Office

Ho Chi Minh City : Developer activity in residential market picks up - Q3 2014

Vietnam’s GDP grew 6.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q3 2014, bringing GDP growth for the first nine months of 2014 to 5.5%, compared to 5.1% (...)

Office

Taipei : Most deals are for owner-occupation - Q3 2014

  This quarter, grade A office rents were stable in most districts. The citywide average rent remained at NT$2,440 (US$82) per ping per month. (...)

Office

Sydney CBD : Three year high in annual net absorption - Q3 2014

The national economy decelerated over Q2 2014, with growth of 0.5% compared to 1.1% in Q1. This followed a strong start to the year (...)

Office

South & West China : Residential transactions remain low - Q3 2014

Shenzhen - New supply in the residential market increases but transaction drops New supply in the primary market rose as developers rushed to launch (...)

Office

Seoul : Modest pace in Seoul office market - Q3 2014

In the second quarter of 2014, the South Korean economy grew by 3.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to a nominal GDP of KRW 367.7 trillion. The average (...)

Office

Guangzhou & Central China : Move to quality leads office space absorption - Q3 2014

Guangzhou – CBD more attractive with slight drop in office rents The mature business atmosphere and increasing supply in Pearl River New City are (...)

Office

Canberra CBD : Weak demand a brake on rental growth - Q3 2014

The national economy decelerated over Q2 2014, with growth of 0.5% compared to 1.1% in Q1. Strong growth earlier in the year is attributed (...)

Office

Gothenburg Offices : Tight supply is keeping rents on high level - Q3 2014

Swedish GDP grew weaker than expected in Q2 2014. This slowdown is caused by a subdued international economy, which is hampering Swedish exports. But (...)

Investment

Nordics : Expecting greater in- and outbound flows - Q2 2014

Nordic commercial real estate investment in Q2 2014 increased to EUR3.5bn, up by 6% compared to Q1. On an annual basis volumes are marginally (...)

Investment

United States : Overseas investors driving price rises - Q2 2014

Nationwide investment transaction volumes reached a pre-crisis record of USD267bn in the trailing 12 months to mid-year 2014. With this report, we initiate our (...)

Office

Poland : Growing BPO/SSC sectors stimulate demand - H1 2014

After the delivery of 316,000 sq m in H1 2014 (including 190,000 sq m completed in Warsaw), the total amount of the modern office (...)

Office

Tenant Demand in Sydney CBD - Demand recovery resilient to economic downside

There has been a widely held view for some time that following a sustained period of weakness from 2011 to 2013, office tenant demand (...)

Investment

Establishing the Capital Economic Region Slow at first, but on fast forward now

The concept of establishing the Capital Economic Region (“CER”) has been around since 2004. But, there has been a lot of behind the scenes (...)

Housing

Singapore residential demand : Non-Singaporean buyers more price-sensitive - Q2 2014

Transactions of private homes, increased by 55% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q2 to 3,836 units. Sales in the primary market made up 60% of sales (...)

Office

Geneva : Decline in take-up and rents - Q2 2014

During Q2 2014, the Swiss GDP growth forecast for 2014 has been lowered from 1.9% to 1.8% by Oxford Economics. 2015 and 2016 forecasts (...)

Retail

Europe Retail & Shopping Centre : Record volume expected to continue in H2 - H1 2014

Europe is now emerging from the economic crisis and main economic indicators (GDP, retail sales and consumer spending) are now forecast to return to (...)

Investment

China Fair Value : Property more attractive as required return falls - Q2 2014

The DTZ China Fair Value IndexTM score rose to 53 in Q2 2014, up from 39 in the previous quarter, and meaning that property (...)

Logistics

Germany Industrial : Volume of new-builds up - Q2 2014

In the first half of 2014, 2.4 million sq m of warehouse space was newly let or passed to owner-occupiers through purchases or starts (...)

Investment

European Transaction-Based Price Index - Recovery delayed by non-UK price declines - Q2 2014

Prices for All European commercial real estate were up by 0.9% over the quarter in Q2 2014 according to our latest DTZ European transaction-based (...)

Office

UK : Sharp increase in headline rents - Q2 2014

Anticipation of a short term supply squeeze and an increase in pre-letting pushed up UK regional office prime headline rents 3% on average in (...)

Logistics

Czech Republic : Manufacturing companies dominate demand - Q2 2014

A slight decline in take-up was recorded in Q2 2014. Despite the significant increase in new supply, the effect on the vacancy rate was (...)

Office

Asia Pacific : Occupiers cautious despite economic recovery - Q2 2014

The Asia Pacific economy is recovering. A combination of faster export growth, higher domestic production and capital spending is boosting GDP. We expect GDP (...)

Investment

China : Private investment interests resurgent - Q2 2014

Affected by the drop in land sales, total investment transaction volume for Q2 2014 dropped by 47.7% q-o-q to be recorded at US$29.6bn. Nonetheless, (...)

Office

China : Shenzhen outperforms other markets - H1 2014

In the first of 2014, the China office market remained relatively active with an aggregate net absorption of 945,000 sq m or a year-on-year (...)

Investment

Asia Pacific Fair Value : Property more attractive as required return falls - Q2 2014

The Asia Pacific property market continues to present attractive opportunities for investors. The DTZ Asia Pacific Fair Value Index™ rose to 63 in Q2, (...)

Health / Senior

European Nursing homes : Consolidation in progress 2014

Globally in Europe, population will increase by more than 2% in the next 20 years. Important disparities will differently impact the national context. Combined (...)

Retail

Hungary : Instead of expansion, redesign is the main trend - H1 2014

No new developments were completed in H1 2014. Development activity is almost completely frozen. Only a few projects are proposed to be built, focusing (...)

Investment

Hungary : Retail in focus - H1 2014

The first half of 2014 followed the improvement path seen at the end of 2013. The volume of investment transactions totalled €170 million, 15% (...)

Retail

Poland : Smaller Markets on Development Track - H1 2014

H1 2014 ended with a total of 266,000 sq m of new GLA having been delivered to the market in 13 new projects and (...)

Office

Brussels : New prime rent - Q2 2014

In the recovering economic context, the Brussels office market has recorded 250,000 sq m of take-up since the beginning of the year, a level (...)

Office

Denver Office : Tightening Drives Fundamentals - Q2 2014

Metro Denver’s office market has steadily improved since the national recession peaked in 2009. As economic conditions normalized, business optimism resurfaced and job growth (...)

Office

Boston CBD : Steady & Future Growth - Q2 2014

As we enter the latter half of 2014, the second quarter ended with Boston delivering its fourth straight quarter of positive absorption with 482,542 (...)

Finance

"For 2024, logistics and residential are our top markets for capital value recovery"

BiTV Interview welcomes Hans Vrensen, Head of Strategy & Research Europe at AEW. In a report titled “2024 European Outlook: Repricing Triggers Revival”, AEW projects that (...)

Finance

Finally the year of the new cycle?

"Central banks have a mandate to ensure price stability in the medium term, so they had no choice but to raise their interest rates", (...)

Finance

The debt funding gap looms over the property industry

The pre-pandemic years were a good time for the French property markets. "Property investment continues to be very dynamic in France, particularly with commercial (...)

Finance

"There is light at the end... but we are still in the tunnel"

BiTV welcomes Hans Vrensen, Managing Director and Head of Research & Strategy Europe at AEW. The global real estate investment manager recently published its 2023 (...)

Finance

Towards a rebound in real estate yields in Europe according to AEW

All real estate sectors are expected to benefit from stronger rental growth and yield compression starting in 2024 : this is the main finding (...)

Finance

The times they are changing... and the real estate cycle with them

A lot can change in a year. “At the end of 2021, real estate market activity was dynamic," recalls Christoph Knaack, CEO of Preqin, (...)

Finance

Will 2023 be a year of (re)definition for real estate markets?

"The specificity of the current period is that it distinguishes between two time scales: the first around a peak in inflation that may or (...)

Finance

"Property yields are clearly expected to move up in 2023"

BiTV interview welcomes Hans Vrensen, Head of Research & Strategy at AEW Europe. With him, we discuss the firm's recent report, “2023 European Annual Outlook: Positioning (...)

Office

"Regional European markets will be more resilient when the working from home trends continues"

BiTV Interview welcomes Hans Vrensen, Head of Research & Strategy at AEW Europe. In a recent AEW Monthly Research Report, its is stated that the share of (...)

Finance

Even if yields rise, over half of Europe's RE markets remain attractive - AEW

Despite expectations that bond yield normalisation will raise property yields in the next five years, investment manager AEW says that over half the markets assessed for (...)