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PurposeIn recent decades, institutional investment has become increasingly focussed on residential property in the United Kingdom, reflecting interest in what was previously considered an "alternative" asset class, but is now an evolving and ever more complex sector. This short thought piece considers how such processes may be understood through investment-related research.Design/methodology/approachThe UK residential market has experienced substantial capital inflows in the wake of the global financial crisis. This reflective piece suggests there is a need for more research into residential real estate as an institutional asset class to further unpack and understand shifting market dynamics within the United Kingdom. It offers insight into evolving market trends across a diverse range of investors and market sub-sectors.FindingsThis paper considers the diverse research opportunities within the residential investment markets, including, but not limited to, the private rented sector, build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation, presenting opportunities for burgeoning research.Practical implicationsThe viewpoint suggests how this research lacuna may be bridged through additional research in not just the UK residential market, but also how investors may further integrate and operationalise UK residential assets in diversified or specialised investments, from domestic to international propositions. The suggested research agenda promotes enhanced understandings of residential markets and processes driving investment decision-making.Originality/valueAs the integration of residential property into vehicles such as Real Estate Investment Trusts, private equity funds and managed multi-asset portfolios continues to increase, there is an amplified need to understand the market context in which such investment flows occur, including the potential impact of COVID-19, Brexit and the cyclical evolution of real estate markets more broadly.

This 'Behind the News' intervention offers a critique of food aid provision in the UK through two distinct and yet interconnected perspectives. First, it situates the crisis of food poverty within a wider social and historic context, and second, it questions the position and response of the capitalist state to this growing crisis. The piece weaves the two perspectives together, reflecting on the current government's struggle to recognise, accept or address the significance of this crisis.

Charity has become ubiquitous in contemporary capitalism. It is an inculcated moral concept, a symbolic representation of 'the good', accepted without question. But is charity so simple and straightforward? This polemic offers a starting point, proposing the reconsideration of an apparently embedded social concept, and the reassessment of preconceived and presumptuous notions of what charity represents.

PurposeThe UK's purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector has seen significant institutional investment in recent decades. This paper unpacks contemporary trends and perspectives on the sector. It questions whether PBSA has moved from being an "alternative" to "mainstream" residential asset class, framing the analysis through the lens of market maturity.Design/methodology/approachThe methods triangulate perspectives drawn from literature on the evolution of PBSA as an asset class with illustrations of investment trends across the UK between 2005 and 2020 using data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), combined with findings from 40 semi-structured interviews with investors and stakeholders in PBSA in the UK London is the focus of the work, whilst other regional cities are integrated for comparison.FindingsThe results demonstrate that London's PBSA market is ahead of trends currently being replicated in regional cities. However, the regions currently offer greater return potential and opportunities for risk taking compared to London, where yields are compressed, and the market is considered lower risk. The concept of maturity remains useful as a framework for evaluating markets, however a more granular analysis of sectors is necessary to further understand asset classes within sectors. PBSA continues to trade at a premium across the UK; it is considered the most mature residential asset class.Practical implicationsThe emergence of PBSA as an asset class continues to play a developing role within the residential sector and UK investment market. Risk, value and local context remain key when integrating PBSA into institutional portfolios, and as the first to consider the UK market from a qualitative research approach, this research provides a snapshot of these influences in 2021.Originality/valueOur approach offers original insight into investment trends across the UK and is the first to focus reflections on the London market specifically. The research highlights the role of PBSA as a vanguard asset class for investors into residential, situating its growth within the framework of market maturity and drawing out market nuances from interviews.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to re-examine currency swaps as an effective hedging technique for individual asset performance in today's global real estate market, by considering hypothetical prime office investments across six different cities and five currency pairs. The perspective of a risk-averse, high net worth, non-institutional, smaller-scale Swiss investor is paired with investors from five additional national markets.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines currency swaps in key office markets across three continents (Frankfurt, London, New York, Sydney, Warsaw and Zurich) and extends previous work on the topic by adopting both Monte Carlo (MC) and Latin Hypercube (LH) techniques to create stochastic samples for individual asset performance analyses. This is the first paper to apply LH sampling to currency swaps with underlying real estate assets, and the validity of this method is compared with that of MC. Four models are presented: the experience of the domestic investor (no exchange rate (ER) fluctuations); an unhedged direct foreign investment; hedging rental income and initial purchase price via a currency swap; and hedging rental income and anticipated terminal value.FindingsThe efficacy of a swap depends on the historical framework of the ERs. If the foreign currency depreciates against the domestic one, hedging the repatriated cash flow of a property investment proved superior to the unhedged strategy (EUR, GBP, PLN and USD to the CHF). An investor would benefit from exposure to an appreciating foreign currency (CHF to the EUR, GBP, PLN and USD), with an unhedged strategy clearly outperforming the currency swap as well as the domestic investor's performance, while a historically sideways fluctuating ER (AUD to the CHF) also favours an unhedged approach. In all scenarios, unexpected economic or market shocks could cause negative consequences on the repatriated proceeds.Practical implicationsThis research is of interest to small-scale, non-institutional investors aiming to develop strategies for currency risk mitigation in international investments for individual assets; however, tax-optimising strategies and the implications on a larger portfolio have not been taken into account.Originality/valueThere is no recent academic work on the efficacy of currency swaps in today's global office market, nor has the position of smaller-scale high net worth investors received much academic attention. This research revisits the discussion on their validity, providing contemporary insight into the performance of six markets using LH as an alternative and original sampling technique.

In the wake of the global financial crash of 2007–2008, many governments have sought to streamline their post-war planning systems and encourage faster project delivery. Expedited decision-making is equated with efficiency and the meeting of broader growth objectives, whereas slower and more complex forms of engagement are presented as an impediment and a governmental problem to be solved through reform. For critical authors such as Weber, such approaches are fraught with danger. The core objective of planning systems should, conversely, be focused on the production of 'slow cities', in which decision-making times allow time for proper democratic and judicial-technical oversight of development processes. Slow planning, it is claimed, can limit the negative impacts of rapid development on urban built environments and communities. In this paper, we draw on research in London to examine the relationships between the temporalities of planning, project outcomes and the politics of time. We argue that within urban studies there needs to be a stronger emphasis on the temporal dimensions of governance and the politics of time. We highlight the conditions in and through which temporal resources are deployed strategically in urban planning and assess the ways in which powerful, reflexive and time-resourced developers and investors use planning timeframes to boost returns over the longer term. We conclude by setting out agendas for future research and for more variegated and contextualised explorations of fast and slow planning processes.

Abstract
Part of an ongoing longitudinal study, this article provides evidence on the emerging impacts of Covid-19 on the demand for, configuration and role of offices in cities, drawing on primary data from semi-structured interviews with UK-based corporate real estate managers. The research is grounded on a 'theory of change' framework combining real estate, institutional economics and economic geography literature. Our findings confirm an acceleration towards hybrid working patterns. While some changes in the current use of offices may be temporary or more dynamic, other adjustments may be permanent (for example working from home, portfolio rationalisations) and trigger structural changes across cities.

Based on a sample of office markets in 33 cities across 16 countries for the period 2007-2015, this paper explores variations in commercial real estate transaction activity and asset pricing in international office markets. It is argued that there are complex interactions and feedback relationships between asset prices, transaction activity, market conditions and local institutional structures in real estate markets. Commercial real estate pricing is modelled using data on capitalization rates. The relationships found are consistent with previous research in terms of the importance of drivers such as government bond yields, yield spreads and real estate rents. Consistent with information network effects, it is also found that larger and more mature markets tend to have lower cap rates and, thus, higher asset prices. The results for transaction activity are less clear cut. Results from econometric analysis of turnover rates suggest that the same explanatory factors do not determine transaction activity to the same extent as cap rates. When purged of possible joint determinants, there is no evidence to support the view that cap rates affect market turnover rates or that turnover rates affect cap rates.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of acronyms -- List of Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Critical dialogues of urban governance, development and activism in London and Toronto: -- Why Toronto and London? -- Critical dialogues as part of the comparative gesture -- Universities as part of the community of city builders -- Dialogic lenses of the comparative urban condition in Toronto and London -- Governance in the global city -- Real estate and housing -- Community, activism and engagement

This book examines the flow of investment into rural land assets in Europe, particularly farmland, woodland and wineries, but extending also to leisure uses such as golf courses and theme parks. It explores the characteristics of investors in rural land and their motivations before undertaking an analysis of the place impacts of investment, viewing 'new money' as a potential development opportunity, delivering a variety of outcomes for local landscapes and communities. After providing introductory insights into rural land investment and the measurement of associated impacts, ten case studies - from different European locations - explore actual investment motives and local impacts. The book concludes with a synthesis of investment experiences and an assessment of the transformative changes brought to rural areas by the flow of new money.