1. Australia: Sustainability drives hotel lending
Hotel industry green loans are on a sharp upward curve in Australia as environmental, social and governance matters become priorities, with banks holding hoteliers to account for their policies and practices. Sustainability initiatives are increasingly vital to get hotel development projects across the line, according to operators and analysts.
Sustainability-linked loans are relatively new in Australia but are starting to multiply, with their structure and terms orchestrated to support and incentivize hotel companies that have a strong ESG commitment. Government-mandated emissions targets are looming, particularly in New South Wales, which wants to achieve 70% cuts in all buildings by 2035.
2. UK: Chancellor bets big on affordable housing
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves put major investment in affordable housing, improved defense security and transportation at the center of the Spending Review, the key document laying out the budget for United Kingdom government departments in coming years.
In an announcement that has major implications for real estate across a range of areas, the Chancellor said the purpose of the review was to ensure renewal was felt in ordinary people’s everyday lives, jobs and business districts. The Chancellor unveiled what she termed the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in 50 years, including a new affordable homes program that will see £39 billion invested over the next decade.
3. France: Retail real estate rebounds
After years of setbacks caused by inflation, a global pandemic and explosive growth of e-commerce, investors are now taking another look at French retail real estate as in-store sales recover.
Analysts said properties beyond those in urban “high street” hubs are getting attention as retailers across several categories report steady sales gains and brick-and-mortar retail overall posts a resilient operating performance. After two years in which growth in household consumption was less than 1%, statistics from trade group Procos confirm growth in physical retail activity, with member retailers ending 2024 with same-store sales up 1.1% from the previous year.
4. Germany: Logistics properties face supply shortage
Germany’s supply of modern, low-emission logistics properties will lag demand by at least 42% by 2030, much higher than the European average gap of 28%, according to a global survey report from brokerage JLL.
The shortfall in Germany could actually be even greater, as the 900 logistics users at surveyed companies represent just under a third of all regions’ business operators based on geographical area. “Worldwide, more than two thirds of the leading industry players have committed to reducing emissions,” said Sarina Schekahn, an executive in charge of industrial and logistics practices at JLL.
5. Canada: Government seeks to curb retail property controls
Canada’s Competition Bureau has followed up on its two-year-old campaign to reduce property-control stipulations that aim to prevent competing stores from opening within the same shopping center. The agency issued new guidance urging that retail companies only ask for property controls when they enhance competition.
A property control usually takes the form of a lease clause inserted by tenants that bans the same sorts of retailers from opening at properties where they have an outlet. One common example is a grocery store that demands legal guarantees preventing the landlord from leasing space in the same mall or shopping center to another grocery store.
6. US: Drugmakers plan $270 billion in manufacturing investment
The American biotech property sector could see a burst of activity in one of the first tests of the federal government’s trade policies aimed at encouraging the return of manufacturing to the United States.
The potential for hefty tariffs on imported drugs and other cost pressures have helped induce 15 major pharmaceutical companies to announce manufacturing and research projects in the U.S. this year, with a total investment value of over $270 billion over the next five to 10 years, according to a report by brokerage JLL. “We’re going to see a pace of growth that hasn’t been seen in decades,” Greg Matter, vice chairman of JLL’s newly formed advanced manufacturing group, told CoStar News.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.