News

As funds now have to give detailed assessments of their sustainability ranking, the days of paying lip service are over.

 

By Ami Kotecha, Co-Founder and President of Amro Partners

 

Few can argue against the urgent need for transparency and accountability when it comes to ESG-related claims. As of January 2023, regulations came into force under the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) requiring financial market participants, including real estate funds, to file quarterly reports outlining their ESG performance against precise and transparent sustainability goals.

 

Funds must explain both how they will integrate sustainability risks into investment decisions – and the true impact of these decisions on the environment and on social outcomes. Instead of relying on vague sustainability reports that pay lip service while continuing ‘business as usual’, investors will be armed with the real information allowing them to confidently assess those funds that are genuinely aligned with their values.

 

The first reports are due on 30 June this year – a mere three months away. SFDR applies to any financial market participants marketing their products in the EU, so UK companies cannot look away. The UK is also responding with its own SDR (Sustainability Disclosure Requirements) Framework, currently under consultation.

Amro co-founder and group President Ami Kotecha has been appointed Chair of the UK PropTech Association (UKPA) following a unanimous vote by the Board.

 

Ami’s tenure begins during an inflationary economic environment that can provide interesting opportunities for Proptech start-ups. However, UK tech start-ups are also having to work harder to attract new venture capital investment, and while Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has put tailwinds of $370 billion behind climate tech solutions, the UK must respond quickly and decisively to show its own commitment to green tech investment and to innovation as a whole by offering a speedy replacement to the planned reduction in R&D tax credits.

 

PropTech holds the key to solving the largest problems facing the real estate sector as it grapples with decarbonisation, dislocation and a growing need for data-enhanced decision making.

UKPA is already taking the lead in facilitating discussions, nurturing ideas and creating an open environment for the tech community to cross-germinate and collaborate with large and small real estate sector players.

 

•  PBSA project in Alicante will deliver c. 280 beds opening in September 2025
• Home to 27,000+ students, Alicante is a robust market with a significant supply shortage
• €30M GDV project will target BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, Fitwel 3* and EPC ‘A’ ratings
• Targeting NZC2025, Amro is creating the most sustainable residential portfolio in Europe

We continue our strong growth in Iberia with the acquisition of a new student housing project in Alicante, alongside joint venture partner Falco Capital.

The c. €30 million GDV project, Amro Estudiantes Alicante, will deliver c. 280 student beds in San Vicente del Raspeig, just 3 minutes’ walk from Universidad de Alicante’s main campus.

In line with Amro’s commitment to our NZC2025 pathway, the development will target the highest possible ESG ratings including BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, Fitwel 3* and WiredScore ‘Platinum’, making it one of Spain’s most sustainable buildings upon completion in early Q3 2025.

Home to more than 27,000 students (c.7,500 in need of accommodation) and with an estimated 1,250 dedicated student beds, comprising mainly unsophisticated private operators, Alicante is suffering from a chronic shortage of high-quality student accommodation with modern facilities. The current ratio of students to dedicated beds stands at around 6:1, with student numbers continuing to rise year on year.

We’re excited to announce that Amro Seville has been shortlisted in the Best Sustainable Student Property category at the Class Foundation’s Best in Class Awards 2022. LinkedIn voting accounts for 20% of our final score, so if you agree Amro Sevilla would be a worthy winner, please vote before 1^st November 2022!

 

The awards were established in 2016 to celebrate, recognise and promote organisations and initiatives at the forefront of the student housing and shared living sectors. Best Sustainable Student Property celebrates the innovative student housing projects that have most successfully incorporated sustainability throughout their design, construction and operation, paving the way for next generation living.

 

Setting new standards for the sector, Amro Seville is a trailblazing student housing project, being the first in Europe to achieve BREEAM Outstanding, Fitwel 3* and WiredScore Platinum ratings. The EPC ‘A’ rated building produces operational emissions of just 11.2kg CO2 / sqm per year, representing a 75% improvement on efficiency standards compared to the wider market and superseding RIBA 2025 emissions objectives by 12%.

Please join us at 10:00am on Wednesday 19^th October 2022 for the first in our new series of events with the UKAA (UK Apartment Association).

 

The UKGBC Whole Life Carbon Roadmap lays out the steps needed to decarbonise the built environment with a focus on commercial assets, but what about residential buildings?

 

In a panel discussion moderated by UKAA CEO Brendan Geraghty, we look forward to exploring the challenges, risks and opportunities in the Whole Life Carbon Approach in the Build to Rent sector. Our panellists include Elisabetta Li Destri Nicosia (Director – ESG & Sustainability at Amro Partners), Dave Cheshire (Director – Sustainability, Buildings & Places at AECOM) and Rory O-Hagan (Director at Assael Architecture).

This week we open a new office in Amsterdam from which to spearhead our European expansion from 2,500 student housing units to 5,000 by the end of 2024.

 

Led by newly appointed Investment Manager Thomas Bohnstedt, previously Head of Underwriting at LRC Group and prior to that an Associate at Hudson Advisors, the office will target new purpose-built student housing opportunities in the Netherlands and Belgium.

 

Well-established in Iberia since 2018 and with nine projects already completed or under development, we are targeting early market share arising from a severe shortage of high quality, dedicated student beds against a backdrop of rising student populations. JLL estimates approximately 2.6 million more student beds are needed in Europe’s main student centres to meet existing demand, with growing student numbers set to push the shortage even higher.

 

Amro’s portfolio is being developed to be the leading portfolio of residential assets in Europe from an ESG perspective, with all projects targeting BREEAM Outstanding. We are analysing acquisition opportunities ranging in size from 200 – 500 beds in cities with healthy and growing student populations, with further office openings planned in Germany and the Nordics during 2023.