UK and Continental European real estate’s place as a global sector is underpinned by the volume and velocity of international capital seeking to invest in an increasingly broad range of geographies and uses. Whilst the outlook has changed post the surprise “Brexit” vote, the low interest rate environment continues to support the absolute and relative attractions of real estate’s income driven total returns. This applies even though we are in the latter stages of the property market’s current cycle, that is now adjusting to the known unknowns post the “Brexit” vote. The potential for continued low rates may mean that we find ourselves in an elongated “super-cycle”. The three elements we consider key to continued growth across real estate markets are: economic activity supporting business and tenant confidence; tenant demand exceeding accommodation supply; and lowly geared balance sheets with comfortable ICR headroom. Although this solid foundation is in place, there is no doubt that growth is decelerating. Yield compression has run its course and future growth will depend on rental values being translated into income. The returns trajectory this points to is good for long term investor demand, but creates an environment where trading and development orientated companies are likely to have to work harder. This raises interesting questions with regards to the desire and ability of private vs. public capital to support different types of real estate businesses.
Transacting across the Real Estate Sector
We continue to be active across all subsectors completing M&A transactions and raising capital on behalf of our clients.
Selected recent European transactions
- €29mSell down (Joint Bookrunner)
August 2016
- €30mPlacing (Joint Bookrunner)
June 2016 - £23mDisposal of Regeneration Portfolio of United House to Telford Homes
September 2015
- £201mPlacing (Joint Bookrunner)
July 2015
- £120mDisposal by MML Capital Partners to Montreux Healthcare Fund and Macquarie
June 2015
- £158mDisposal of Illius Properties to Salmon Real Estate
November 2014
- N/ADisposal of Four Pillars Hotels to Starwood Capital
January 2014
- £429mMain Market IPO
(Co-Lead Manager)
September 2013
- £270mFinancial Advisor to MSREI on the disposal of Executive Offices Group
August 2013
Our European investment banking team for the Real Estate sector
Charlie Foster
Managing Director
Charlie leads the real estate sector having recently transferred from our Research division. Prior to joining Canaccord Genuity in 2014, Charlie was Head of Strategy & Research for the Real Estate Finance business at RBS and before that he was Head of Real Estate Research at Oriel Securities, an Extel ranked top 3 team with a leading corporate client list and dominant position bringing companies to the market. Charlie is a Chartered Surveyor having worked at JLL, CBRE and Land Securities before moving into Investment Banking.
Bruce Garrow
Head of Corporate Broking
Bruce leads our corporate broking capabilities, dedicated to providing board advice to our retained PLC relationships. Before joining Canaccord Genuity, Bruce spent his early career at Numis Securities. He has significant experience around all types of ECM transactions, on both the Main Market and AIM markets in London, including IPOs, secondary offerings, shareholder sell downs, buy backs and tender offers. During his career, Bruce has completed more than 100 transactions in a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on retail, online gaming, leisure and real estate. Bruce graduated with a BA from Newcastle University.
Robert Orr
Senior Adviser
Robert brings 35 years of real estate expertise. He also serves as adviser to Lewis Trust Group, owners of River Island fashion group, in respect of their family real estate holdings. He is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee EQT Real Estate, and a non-executive director of Tishman Speyer (UK) Properties Limited and Redefine International Plc. Robert also serves as a NED of Apcoa Parking Holdings GmbH. Robert was with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) from 1980 until 2009 and was based in Germany for 11 years and Paris for four years. Latterly, he served as European Chief Executive of JLL, based in London. Robert is a fluent German and French speaker.
Dedicated sector expertise from our European equity research team
We provide high-quality, in-depth research coverage of the Real Estate sector.
Chris Spearing
Real Estate Analyst
Chris joined Canaccord Genuity in 2016, having previously worked at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and most recently at Numis Securities. At Citigroup Chris was Head of European Real Estate Equity Research, where he was ranked as a top three sell-side analyst by StarMine for European real estate stock picking and earnings estimates. At Merrill Lynch he was a key member of the team ranked first by Institutional Investor and Extel for Pan European real estate equity research. Earlier, Chris worked in real estate strategy and research at HSBC, with responsibility for market analysis and forecasts. He has a degree in European Property Development from University College London and holds an MBA.
British Land
Capital & Counties
Derwent London
Great Portland Estates
Hammerson
intu
Land Securities
LondonMetric Property
Market Tech
Segro
Shaftesbury
Sirius Real Estate
Workspace
Strong relationships, smart liquidity
Our sales and trading team’s approach combines market intelligence and sector expertise, together with our sophisticated execution platform and supported by high-quality, idea-driven research.