Rising demands for energy efficiency and quality of space, changing user needs, economic uncertainties and increasing competitive pressure: the property markets are undergoing structural change. This is also fundamentally altering the role of asset management. Today, far more is required than the traditional management of existing properties. It is about forward-looking asset management. In light of changing market conditions, strategic tasks are becoming increasingly important: further developing usage concepts, prioritising investments in a targeted manner, and reducing vacancies. Operational proximity to the property, to tenants and to the market environment is becoming a key success factor – with a direct impact on the profitability, competitiveness and long-term viability of properties.

At Real I.S., we view asset management as the overall commercial responsibility for a property. This means that our asset managers act, so to speak, as the ‘CEOs’ of the properties. They are responsible for return targets as well as the property’s positioning in the market, the management of external service providers and the success of letting. At the same time, they work closely with fund management, property management and technical specialists to consistently implement property strategies.

The requirements for property vary considerably today depending on the type of use. This is precisely why Real I.S. relies on specialised asset management teams focused on individual types of use. The teams have many years’ experience in their respective markets and have a very detailed understanding of the requirements of operators and users.

Within the Real I.S. Group, local market knowledge and expertise in the respective property sectors are specifically combined. In Germany, asset management is organised with a particularly strong focus on property use types. At the same time, regional offices in markets such as France, the Netherlands and Ireland remain an important part of the organisation. This is because successful asset management strategies require both a deep understanding of the respective asset class and in-depth knowledge of local market conditions. 

At Real I.S., asset managers support properties throughout their entire life cycle – from acquisition through ongoing management to sale. This fosters a deep understanding of the respective properties, their potential and their risks. This also has a positive impact on the occupancy rate. For example, our open-ended public property fund has an average occupancy rate of over 97 per cent. 

The benefits of this specialisation are particularly evident in day-to-day operations. The logistics sector, for instance, is undergoing structural change. It is no longer simply about storage facilities. The focus is now on connected and energy-optimised hubs with the appropriate charging infrastructure. To meet these requirements, Real I.S. pursues a portfolio-wide photovoltaic strategy.

The office and retail markets are among the property sectors that have undergone particularly significant changes in recent years. This makes sound market knowledge and a deep understanding of the respective users’ needs all the more important in these sectors. Whilst hybrid working models and rising quality expectations are shaping demand for office space, in the retail sector new consumer habits and the increasing integration of high-street retail and e-commerce are changing the requirements for locations and usage concepts.

To identify these developments at an early stage and manage them successfully, Real I.S. relies on a combination of specialised asset management and local market knowledge. Asset managers work closely with on-site lettings and market experts. In the office sector, our German colleagues are primarily supported by the regionally based letting managers at Real I.S. Real Estate Management GmbH (REM) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Real I.S. 

In both the office and retail sectors, letting success today depends more than ever on active market engagement and tailor-made offers for tenants. Letting expertise and a deep understanding of the respective market requirements are therefore becoming increasingly important.

Current examples from various property types demonstrate just how successful this approach can be in practice. In the office sector, for instance, three lettings have just been announced at the Zentralbüro in Darmstadt – in a market characterised by a significant oversupply. The latest letting success at the AERA property in Berlin illustrates that high-quality office space with a sustainable usage concept remains in demand even in a challenging market environment. For the DGNB Platinum-certified property in Berlin-Charlottenburg, BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH has been secured as a new tenant for a space on the first floor. This underlines the importance of a precise market approach and a range of space tailored to demand in an increasingly competitive environment.

An example from the Real I.S. portfolio demonstrates that our approach also proves its worth in the retail sector: in Saarbrücken, following the termination of the anchor tenant’s lease, all of the approximately 40,000 square metres of lettable space were successfully re-let even before the tenant vacated the premises – without significant vacancies or prolonged marketing periods. In addition to retaining key existing tenants, the mix of retail sectors was specifically optimised and supplemented by attractive concepts such as Müller, Decathlon, Only, Vodafone, O₂ and Futterhaus, as well as local catering outlets.

The swift re-letting and implementation were based on effective collaboration between letting, planning and project management teams, as well as a clear positioning strategy from asset management. The next phase will involve modernisation work on the shopping centre and its technical building services, as well as the implementation of further ESG initiatives.

These examples illustrate the importance of market knowledge, robust networks and flexible, tenant-focused property developments.

The importance that forward-looking and future-oriented asset management has now come to hold is also evident in repositioning. Today, property is viewed in a far more flexible light than it was just a few years ago. The key question is increasingly one of which use makes economic sense in the long term and how properties can be adapted to changing market conditions.

At the same time, the ability to identify changes in the market environment or challenges faced by individual operators at an early stage and to take appropriate action is becoming increasingly important. Here, too, is an example from Real I.S.: in Göttingen, the company succeeded in responding in good time to the financial difficulties faced by a hotel operator and in developing alternative operational solutions even before the operator went into administration. A new operator, Premier Inn, was secured within a few months. A 25-year lease was signed for the hotel property, which covers around 5,000 square metres and has 144 rooms. The virtually seamless change of operator highlights just how essential market knowledge, robust networks and swift action are in asset management.

In other property sectors, too, the demands placed on the active management of properties are increasing. In the retail sector, for instance, usage concepts now need to be reviewed and further developed much more frequently than was the case just a few years ago. Repositioning plays a role not only in the commercial sector. Alternative concepts are also gaining in importance in the residential sector – such as the conversion of existing buildings into micro-living schemes that respond to changing housing needs.

Asset management does not end with letting, repositioning or changes of operator. Equally crucial is the question of how properties can remain competitive and commercially successful in the long term. This also involves keeping an eye on tenant satisfaction and changing needs. After all, long-term tenancies, low tenant turnover and taking current user requirements into account contribute significantly to a property’s long-term success. Sustainability and digitalisation are therefore now integral parts of asset management.

Energy audits, consumption analyses and ESG-compliant modernisation are just as much a part of day-to-day operations as the analysis of space, contract and building data. Energy efficiency and technical modernisations have long since ceased to be purely sustainability issues. They have a direct impact on lettability, operating costs and the long-term preservation of a property’s value.

At the same time, digital management tools enable increasingly detailed analyses of floor space, tenancy agreements, consumption and tenant structures. They lay the foundation for well-informed decisions and help to identify potential at an early stage.