The winners in the Real Estate Capital Europe Awards 2022 earned their accolades despite a tough set of market circumstances. Inflation, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty combined to create challenging real estate lending market conditions across Europe.
However, as the following pages reveal, not everyone in the industry sat the uncertainty out.
Our awards process began last November, when we invited submissions to our 37 categories. Our editorial team sifted through the entries, conducted proprietary research and canvassed opinion across the industry. We then drew up shortlists of four for each category and put them to a public vote in December, which closed in mid-January. Voters were not allowed to vote for their own companies and only votes from company email addresses were counted.
Now, at long last, the results can be revealed. There were two big winners. US mega-manager Blackstone extended its lead as the most successful firm in the awards’ nine-year history in its capacity as both lender and borrower – with five achieved for 2022, including the coveted Alternative Lender of the Year: Europe for its debt business. It now has amassed an impressive 29 awards in total.
PIMCO Prime Real Estate – the newly renamed Allianz Real Estate – also racked up five awards for 2022, including Sustainable Financing Deal of the Year: Europe, for one of its most prominent transactions.
The 2022 awards were the biggest yet, with new categories including sector-specific awards for lending against offices, logistics, retail and residential. Our award for Social Impact Lender of the Year: Europe also made its debut.