RF & EPRA | PropTech in European Real Estate
The Current State of PropTech within the Real Estate Industry
November 2019 | London – Some of the biggest names in European Real Estate gathered last month in London at European Public Real Estate’s (EPRA) invitation-only Annual CEO Forum for an interactive and strategic half-day roundtable workshop and an opportunity for newer EPRA members to network with more established EPRA member companies. RealFoundations’ Co-Founder Chris Shaida facilitated a panel session entitled ‘What CEOs are Really Worried About in PropTech’. The panel included David Atkins of Hammerson, Olivier Elamine of Alstria office REIT-AG and Joost Uwents of WDP, who began their discussion based on the following introductory themes:
- PropTech is typically focused on a single key function — ‘a rifle shot, not a shotgun blast’.
- The PropTech trend looks a lot like the Dotcom Boom — 95% of current PropTech firms will most likely fail.
- In 2017-18, we saw a pressure to ‘pitch something’ whereas now we are asking ‘what function do I need to improve?’
- PropTech is now being recognised like any other investment by filtering, selecting and submitting a business case before any trial or implementation.
- Scaling is key — what works in the lab may fail in real-world situations.
Each panelist shared their opinions on the current state of PropTech within the industry, the best ways to source and select PropTech for a given company, personal experience with adopting and halting PropTech projects and the pressures to invest in technology.
Other sessions included a presentation by Paul Craven on Confirmation Bias and how to be aware of possible difficulties that may arise in decision-making due to implicit bias – as well as when to play devil’s advocate, and a presentation by Struan Richardson of Bank of America on how the 2020s may be different now that we’ve reached ‘Peak Globalisation’.
The previous day, RealFoundations’ London office hosted EPRA’s inaugural PropTech & Innovation Committee for an afternoon of discussion around the opportunities and challenges posed by PropTech, and how EPRA can help its members navigate the associated risks and opportunities. Lead Managing Consultant Simon Parsons represents RealFoundations on the committee, which is comprised of 14 members representing European-listed real estate, consultants and academics.
“It is encouraging to see EPRA take the lead in addressing the challenges associated with PropTech and I look forward to contributing to this cross-industry initiative.”
— Simon Parsons, Lead Managing Consultant, RealFoundations
Connect with Us
To learn more about how RealFoundations can help your real estate company run better, contact Simon Parsons by email or +44 (0)20 7740 3260.
About European Public Real Estate
European Public Real Estate (EPRA) has a mission to promote, develop and represent the European public real estate sector. EPRA achieves this through the provision of better information to investors and stakeholders, active involvement in the public and political debate, improvement of the general operating environment, promotion of best practices and the cohesion and strengthening of the industry.
About RealFoundations
RealFoundations (RF) is the world’s foremost professional services firm focused solely on the real estate industry. Through our delivery of Management Consulting and Managed Services, we help companies that develop, own, operate, service or invest in real estate make better, more profitable decisions. We are proud partners to over 500 real estate companies around the globe, providing accelerated solutions that solve some of real estate’s most complex challenges. We Make Real Estate Run Better.
