2019 was undoubtedly a much slower year for many real estate players. Whilst investor sentiment remains largely positive about the UK property market, Brexit and wider political and economic uncertainty have put a noticeable dampener on deal volumes. However, there is still a weight of capital targeting the UK real estate sector and it is hoped that 2020 should see an uptick in transactions, at least for the time being.

Our annual report Look Back Face Forward explores current investor sentiment and the potential challenges and opportunities that may impact the industry over the next 12 months:

• Owners of real estate are seeking to monetise their assets through refinancing, sale & leasebacks and making use of surplus space.

• Distressed retail opportunities are likely to come to the fore, but the question of who has the tools to successfully reposition them remains, and indeed whether such "saviours" will continue to bide their time until a clearer solution for the future of retail is visible and, ultimately, pricing bottoms out.

• Having been an emerging sector to watch for a number of years now, 2019 saw some tangible progress for build to rent and momentum is expected to continue into 2020. Other residential sectors are also gaining traction, such as senior living and co-living.

• Real estate businesses are increasingly waking up to the need to be more agile, customer-centric, and technology-enabled, with more and more expected to focus on these areas in 2020.

If you wish to discuss any of the findings in our report, please contact Andy Pyle, UK Head of Real Estate.