Uncertainty around the evolvement and duration of the war in Ukraine, the violence in the Middle East, upcoming US elections and geopolitical tensions in other parts of the world dominate the outlook for coming year. Although it seems that interest rates have peaked, central banks’ monetary policies have put a number of large advanced economies into a (technical) recession. A strong recovery for real estate performances is not on the cards yet for 2024 due to these effects, but the bottom in revaluations might be in sight. Bouwinvest’s income is directly correlated with assets under management and downward valuations result in lower income for the management organisation. In parallel, costs have increased due to the high inflation, but inflation will revert to average levels again. The project #Invest requires Bouwinvest invest in the further development of the management organisation in order to prepare for further future success. Altogether, this makes for a rather uncertain outlook when it comes to the profitability of the management organisation for the year 2024. Bouwinvest has developed several scenarios in order to model the potential (financial) impact of the abovementioned variables and will continue to monitor these closely over the course of the year.

The long-term outlook for the sector is fortunately very positive. Driven by demographic, economic and sustainability tailwinds, there is strong underlying demand for the development, repurposing and refurbishment of real estate assets across the globe, especially in the residential, logistics, leisure and healthcare sectors. This will require a significant amount of institutional capital to realise and is expected to provide a good basis for stable capital growth and direct returns in the future. Given its market position, organisational competencies, strong culture and focus on ESG excellence, Bouwinvest is well positioned for continued success as global real estate asset manager. 

The main priority of the management organisation in 2024 will be to execute the Fund and Mandate plans and deliver above market results to our investors. In addition, we will invest in the organisation through #Invest and ensure that the management organisation is well prepared for the market environment and client expectations of the future.