Savills Investment Management (Savills IM), the international real estate investment manager, transacted EUR 3.5 billion globally in 2019. This included c. EUR 3.0 billion in Europe as well as c. 500 million in Asia, comprising EUR 2.2 billion of acquisitions and EUR 1.3 billion of disposals. The firm now manages a company record of c. EUR 20.75 billion in assets under management.
Savills IM conducted 81 transactions across 16 countries in 2019, with highlights including the acquisition of EUR 1.25 billion of logistics properties. Notable transactions include a portfolio of forward commitments in Germany and a five-asset portfolio in Poland. The firm also launched European Logistics Fund 3, a successor fund to the EUR 700+ million European Logistics Fund 2, and has already received capital commitments of EUR 160+ million.
Other notable acquisitions included a series of purchases on behalf of South Korean investors, including a EUR 145m office block in Dublin.
Last year also saw Savills IM appoint a new chief executive officer, Alex Jeffrey, who is based in Singapore. He will lead the next stage of Savills IM’s global growth and deliver on business aspirations. The appointment reinforces Savills IM’s commitment to future growth in the Asia-Pacific region, backed by its strong European platform.
Kiran Patel, Chief Investment Officer at Savills IM, commented:
“Real estate markets globally face several challenges. Few would question the view that they are nearing the peak of their rental cycles, and yields are low, particularly relative to the past. Existing vacancies are limited, and new development is muted across most markets.
“With interest rates low for longer, the asset class has support. Markets are not totally out of balance, and with ongoing structural changes such as e-commerce, urbanisation and demographics, sectoral differences are evolving.
“There are differences between countries and sectors, and as a result real estate markets offer inefficiencies that present opportunities. At Savills IM we believe these inefficiencies are best exploited via strong local knowledge and experts on the ground, which is why we continue to build on our 17-office platform across 13 countries.”