December/January 2016 Issue

If you assumed that this year must have been a challenging one for development finance amid so much market and political volatility, in some ways you’d be right.

With Brexit and the US election outcome front of mind, political instability is making financiers more cautious. Doug Morrison reports on the key findings of a new report into industry sentiment for the coming year.

As mainstream options appear less attractive, investors are increasingly turning to the likes of student accommodation, healthcare and hotels.

For smaller borrowers unable to rely on bank lending any more, the likes of NatWest’s ‘Capital Connections’ platform are an encouraging development. Andy Thomson reports.

The Paris-based investment and banking firm’s US real estate debt team succeeds by unifying its balance sheet and CMBS lending and says the mortgage-backed securities market will endure new regulations. Justin Slaughter reports.

In the French market, a chronic deal shortage is driving strategic moves beyond core Paris. Lauren Parr reports.

Developers across the European and US real estate markets sourced finance during 2016 to bring their schemes to reality. Jane Roberts, Daniel Cunningham, Al Barbarino and Justin Slaughter examine some of the key deals.

The UK’s stand-out deal in November was an £800 million financing which will fund Quintain’s residential-led Wembley Park development. The project, located on land surrounding Wembley Stadium, will include 4,850 homes, many of which will be available to rent.

This is the first Colliers International/Real Estate Capital UK Investor Pricing Survey to be conducted since March and the first post the vote for Brexit. The results are clear: seven months on, sentiment is weaker.

The latest figures compiled by our Research & Analytics division show there are 116 real estate debt funds in the market, seeking just over $48.9 billion of capital.