Real estate and infrastructure synergies driving the emerging ‘RE-Infra’ asset class
PATRIZIA Head of Investment Division James Muir and PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra Phoebe Smith expand on the synergies of real estate and infrastructure, explaining how this is forming the basis for a new ‘RE-Infra’ asset class earmarked for strong growth in future.
James Muir, PATRIZIA Head of Investment Division
Phoebe Smith, PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra
Real estate and infrastructure are two asset classes that have always had parallels. Both - together with other types of assets - can be assigned to the generic term of real assets.
In some cases, the boundaries between the two asset classes are rather blurred, such as with social infrastructure: from an investor's point of view, is a daycare centre a property or an infrastructure facility?
Despite these parallels and overlaps, real estate and infrastructure are still considered separate asset classes for the most part, but for how much longer?
The overlaps between the two continue to grow, especially when considering thematic investment strategies.
In addition, many real estate investors are increasingly turning to infrastructure investments as the opportunities in the space continue to grow and understanding of infrastructure as an asset class has become more mainstream, contributing to the blurring of boundaries.
Spotlight: PATRIZIA’s ‘solarfication’ programme
PATRIZIA, in coordination with solar partners, has fitted almost 600,000 square metres of solar panels across its logistics portfolio in the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium, Germany and Spain. Plans are in place to double the solar coverage on its logistics roof space in the Netherlands, France and Belgium, supporting the energy transition. Once complete, PATRIZIA’s logistics portfolio will generate enough clean energy to power up to 37,000 households across Europe. Moving forward, this will be a vital part of real estate investing, to ensure that integrated solutions are assessed to meet with the essential decarbonisation of the built environment.
Joined-up approaches can add value to a real estate asset and pave the way for the integration of infrastructure expertise, benefitting both asset classes and simplifying the process for investors who can operate within one fee structure and potentially diversify an asset’s income stream if dealing with one manager.
