HomeLutz Kandzia, Head of Department ESG at HanseMerkur Grundvermögen AG, sees the pressure on real estate coming from one place above all: the capital that funds it. In an interview with Deepki, he explains why the finance industry is raising the bar, why digital data is the first milestone, and why the real payoff is protecting the value of a portfolio.
Here’s what it means for owners.
Finance and real estate are converging on risk
Capital markets and real estate are moving in the same direction. Construction standards, climate risk and vulnerability analysis now carry real weight in how assets are valued and financed.
But the industry isn’t there yet. The direction is set, and the data and processes to back it up are still catching up.
For owners, that gap is the risk. If lenders and investors are assessing climate exposure before you can evidence your own position, you’re negotiating on their numbers, not yours.
The pressure is coming from capital
Financial institutions tend to be more risk-averse than other market participants, and they increasingly treat climate exposure as a credit and valuation issue. That pressure flows straight down to the real estate they finance.
That changes the question for owners. It’s less about values and more about access to capital. Assets that can’t show their risk profile will face tougher questions from the people funding them.
Digital data is the first milestone
Before any plan or target, owners need their data in digital form. That rarely happens in one step: first the data has to be gathered, then it has to be made manageable.
The core capability is being able to store, process and evaluate that data digitally. It’s foundational work, and nothing that follows is possible without it.
Few owners start with clean, complete data. Getting it into shape takes technology and experienced people working together.
From data to decisions
With the data foundation in place, the operational work opens up: building decarbonisation plans and planning specific measures asset by asset.
Not every portfolio needs heavy capex. Younger portfolios often get more from strategic levers, such as optimising green leases with clear agreements on sharing data with tenants.
The right plan depends on the portfolio. A younger portfolio’s priorities look very different from one facing major retrofit costs, and the data tells you which one you have.
The real goal is protecting value
Every decision comes back to one question: how do you protect, preserve and grow the value of the portfolio?
Asset performance data sits at the centre of that answer, because it decides whether a property can still be let and whether it holds its value at exit.
That’s the finance case in a sentence. Lettability drives income, exit value drives returns, and both depend on knowing exactly where each asset stands.
Where to start
The first step is understanding where your portfolio stands today.
Watch the full interview above, then use Deepki’s self-serve tools, including the Stranded Asset Calculator, to see how your own assets compare.
