Our markets

According to the UN, population will have grown to approximately 71.7m by 2050 with 90% of the population living in urban areas.

Given expected population increases over the long-term major cities will be a key driver of UK growth with a corresponding increase in demand for more housing and high-quality office space. People do not choose to live in cities merely to be close to work, but rather because of the lifestyle benefits provided by accessibility to amenities. A Centre for Cities survey shows that being "close to restaurants/leisure and cultural facilities" was by far the biggest factor in determining city centre residents' location decisions.

Advances in technology will continue to disrupt how we live, work, shop and communicate, leading to a greater requirement to deliver services that adapt to the emergence of new technology, but also the environment in which they do it in.

With continued demand for warehouse space from third-party logistics operators, online retailers and manufacturers, the importance of property technology has increased for data and analytics as well as to help automate and streamline tasks.

UK's population continues to grow, albeit at a slower rate than previously, with people living longer and low birth rates.

However, the most significant change in the working age population over the next 20 years is for 20 to 30-year olds and 40 to 50-year olds who are expected to increase by 4.1% and 4.3% respectively. Demographics therefore provide positive support for senior living and BtR aimed at young professionals.

The built environment contributes an estimated 25% of the UK's carbon emissions, which increases the pressure on businesses in our industry to adapt their operations to become more sustainable.

This, alongside climate change and the need to reverse environmental degradation, has created higher demand for energy efficient green buildings with rising brown discount.