The wait is over. Here, you will discover the winners of the Real Estate Capital Europe Awards 2021 – the eighth iteration of our annual celebration of the best in the European real estate finance industry.

After a tumultuous 2020, during which the pandemic stopped many in their tracks, confidence bounced back in 2021. Indeed, more European real estate was traded in 2021 than ever before, according to CBRE. The consultancy’s data revealed total European real estate investment volumes of €359 billion, a 25 percent uplift from 2020, but also an 8 percent increase on 2019.

It is difficult to ascertain lending volumes, but a glimpse is possible through the Bayes Business School UK Commercial Real Estate Lending Report for H1 2021, the most recent data at the time of publication, which showed £23.3 billion (€27.4 billion) of new lending in the first six months of the year, outstripping the £15.5 billion lent in H1 2020.

Our 2021 awards recognise those that stood out as the market revival got underway. Before you delve in, here is a reminder of how the awards work.

The process began in October, when we invited you to tell us why your organisation should be in contention in one or more of our 33 categories. Making a submission did not guarantee inclusion, but the information so many of you submitted for consideration gave us plenty to think about. By rigorously researching market activity in 2021, our editorial team eventually drew up shortlists.

Then, it was over to the public. The online vote opened in December. Voters were not allowed to vote for their own companies and only votes from company email addresses were counted. After a meticulous check of the results, we confirmed the winners. Congratulations to them, and better luck next time to the runners-up.

Without further ado, enjoy finding out which organisations and deals you, our readers, deemed the best of 2021.