Iberian Property Summit was marked by the presence of the main international real estate investors, including Castelake, CBRE GI, Blackstone, among others, as well as the main Spanish SOCIMIS. This first initiative focused on the real estate investment in the Iberian market, in London, took place at Hyatt Regency – The Churchill, and had more than 20 distinguished speakers.
Rupert Nabarro, Conference Chairman of this event, in the beginning of the meeting noted that «we have here, in this room, some of the main stakeholders of the economic sector and of the real estate market, in particular from Portugal and Spain. The truth is that the Iberian market, Portugal and Spain, is still not sufficiently well known in London and worldwide. This is a truly thrilling market and full of opportunities», he stated. These are two countries «recovering from a severe crisis and growing exponentially, really interesting markets at the moment, and that’s why this conference comes at a fitting time».
Daniel Lacalle, Economist, mentioned in his presentation that «in the last years, the Iberian economy suffered a change and, in the last five years, is recovering in a meaningful way, supported by several external forces». For instance, «a policy of external openness from companies that have found a way out of the crisis and are now much more competitive in several aspects». «We are experiencing the healthiest recovery, but we understand the risks», such as political, monetary or economic instability.
In the investment point of view, Daniel Lacalle believes that «we surpassed the need to boost the domestic demand, already consolidated, we need now to boost the external demand», and he thinks that «it's possible and we need to work a lot more».
In the last 16 years, the Iberian market had an average return of 7%, stated Malcom Hunt, MSCI. In the Round Table about the real estate returns, the guest speakers did not reached a consensus about the most attractive sector: some are betting on the residential and offices sector, and others on the retail and industry and logistics. Pedro Coelho, from Square AM, said that «the reality is that there's a competition and more money». And the opportunities are there to be seen.
This event was supported by RICS-Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, EPRA –European Public Real Estate Association, and ULI – Urban Land Institute. ASPRIMA – Asociacíon de Promotores Inmobiliarios de Madrid, ACI – Asociacíon Española de Empresas de Consultoría Inmobiliário, APFIPP – Associação Portuguesa dos Fundos de Investimento, Pensões e de Património, and APPII – Associação Portuguesa dos Promotores e Investidores Imobiliários, also associated to the event sponsored by CBRE and Uría Menéndez.