PERE’s annual Europe Forum in London brought together some of the region’s largest and most influential investors and managers to discuss where private real estate is headed – from capital flows and consolidation to how allocators are rethinking risk across sectors, geographies and investment structures.

Among the standout sessions was a keynote interview with Alex Knapp, global head of real estate at Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Speaking with PERE senior editor Evelyn Lee, Knapp laid out how NBIM, which holds roughly $60 billion in public and private real estate, is taking a more dynamic approach to the asset class after significantly widening its investment mandate.

On this episode of The PERE Podcast, host McKenna Leavens brings listeners into that conversation, which also covers NBIM’s recent majority-stake purchase of eight shopping centers in Spain, a roughly €1.4 billion deal that he calls “the tip of the iceberg” for the fund's broader property ambitions. Knapp also breaks down the criteria NBIM is using to evaluate managers in pursuit of operational excellence, specialism and alignment as it seeks to scale its portfolio and revamp performance after multiple years of “mixed returns” from real estate.

For more from Alex Knapp, read PERE’s September issue cover story here.

This episode is sponsored by CounterpointeSRE

Despite the politicization of climate strategies in the US, the sustainable lending market continues to grow. Cumulative funding provided through the C-PACE green lending mechanism has reached over $10 billion. Meanwhile, the deals have grown bigger – regularly exceeding $100 million – as C-PACE has evolved from a niche funding mechanism into an established element of the capital stack.

In this special episode of The PERE Podcast, we’re joined by three guests from CounterpointeSRE, an asset manager of debt investments secured by sustainable real estate: Christopher Hoeffel, chief operating officer; Mary-Stuart Freydberg, head of research and sustainability; and Michele Pitale, the firm’s head of C-PACE.

Hoeffel identifies ongoing demand for sustainable financing solutions to inject additional liquidity into the capital stack in situations where higher interest rates have stretched property owners’ finances. Despite adverse headlines around ESG, real estate investors realize that sustainable assets offer more durable cashflows, argues Freydberg. Meanwhile, overly prescriptive regulatory frameworks are gradually being superseded by a more market-oriented approach.

Pitale charts the expansion of C-PACE financing, with most US states having now adopted the public-private mechanism, which enables owners to fund energy efficient upgrades, paid back through their property taxes. Better understanding of C-PACE is fueling investor demand to maximize the size of their loans, says Hoeffel, with a billion-dollar transaction potentially in the cards.

All views of CounterpointeSRE Employees and the guests on this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CounterpointeSRE. You should not treat any opinions expressed by CounterpointeSRE or guests as specific endorsement to make a particular investment. References to any securities are or investments are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Any past performance discussed is not indicative of future results, and please keep in mind that investment in a fund entails a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss.

This episode is sponsored by Bouwinvest and Arrow Global

Once treated as an obligation, sustainability has now become critical to the investment thesis. As recent global heatwaves have revitalised discussion around the topic, real estate is confronting the ramifications of climate trends. The industry faces both transition and physical climate risks, directly linking asset performance to sustainability.

As a result, managers and investors can no longer treat it simply as a compliance issue. They must carefully evaluate valuations, closely consider the role of resilience and adopt a long-term perspective.

In this episode of The PERE Podcast, Timothy Prescott, manager of ESG at Bouwinvest, and Paul Woods, director with the ESG and sustainability team at Arrow Global, delve into how investors are reacting to the evolving sustainability landscape.

They challenge the practice of treating individual components of ESG as isolated categories, as well as the view that reporting is independent of investment outcomes. Their insights highlight how sustainability can supplement value-creation strategies throughout the lifecycle.