Europe's inflection point

Our world is changing rapidly. The old-world order based on the rule of law, multilateralism and free trade is facing an existential threat. The new emerging world order is dominated by three major powers that use political and economic power, as well as military force, to pursue their interests on a global scale.

We see this moment as an inflection point for Europe. Europe must find an answer to this challenge and should be very confident about its unique strengths and opportunities ahead.

Europe is the second largest economy after the US and a key global engine for growth. It is a unique investment powerhouse and a beacon of stability. And Europe offers a vast array of investment opportunities in highly industrialised economies with comprehensive service sectors and a rich and diverse landscape for innovation, research and technology.

We had all hoped for a stronger recovery in 2025, but this new cycle is different to previous cycles. It will be longer, slower, and bumpier. However, we are also more optimistic than in previous years and we expect this recovery to gain stronger momentum.

PATRIZIA is massively focused on Europe. And we see four defining forces that are shaping the future of our societies and economies. We call them the DUEL megatrends of digitalisation, urbanisation, energy transition and modern living. PATRIZIA remains fully focused on investing along the DUEL megatrends in 2026 and in the future.

EUR 800 billion per year is needed to for governments to achieve their stated sustainable transformation goals, particularly in relation to the energy transition and built environment. We are therefore particularly excited about government-led investment programmes like those in Germany and the UK designed to modernise our ageing infrastructure.

Housing, in particular, affordable housing, is one of the most pressing challenges in our societies today. More than 23 million households in Europe spend over 40% of their disposable income on housing. Here, we see a unique opportunity for governments and private capital to work hand-in-hand in investing in affordable housing across Europe. In addition, modern living provides even more investment opportunities in student housing, micro-living, co-living, senior living and nursing.

At the same time, we are investing in real assets driving digitalisation, such as high-speed fibre networks and water network sensors, and the energy transition, such as energy-from-waste platforms, hydrogen storage and smart city services powered by technology and AI.

The need to modernise and decarbonise our energy systems is great everywhere, but perhaps most critical in Asia-Pacific where we continue to invest in compelling sustainable solutions such as rooftop solar and cooling-as-a-service for commercial real estate buildings and data centres.

With our fully integrated investment platform for real estate and infrastructure, we will continue to move forwards in line with our mid-term vision ‘to become the go-to manager for smart real asset solutions’, investing along the DUEL megatrends.

In the following pages, we will share our views on four sectors which we think offer the best opportunities over the next 12 months: the living sector and ‘new’ logistics, as well as digital and energy infrastructure. Our Head of Investment Management Living Antonio Marin-Bataller explains why early-cycle developments are a strong bet, our Head of Investment Management Logistics Emile Poort shares how defence spending and energy security are reshaping the logistics sector and our Heads of Fund Management Infrastructure and RE-Infra Graham Matthews and Phoebe Smith make the case for increasing power capacity to fully realise the interdependent potential of the digitalisation and energy transition megatrends.

First, our Head of Investment Strategy Radu Mircea sets the scene with an overview of the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape we are operating within, and how the DUEL megatrends offer the clearest investment lens for capturing value and aligning portfolios with a transforming world.

I hope you enjoy reading our insights and forward-looking investment perspectives and I look forward to the discussions we will have in what I hope will be a happy and prosperous 2026.