How WRE London Embeds ESG In Their Value Add Investment Strategy

Repurposing for new office customer demand

Quote from Guest: “They want to challenge the status quo, do things differently.” - Sascha Lewin

Summary: Sascha Lewin Chief Executive Officer at WRE joins Bold founder Caleb Parker for Episode 7 of Season 9 where they discuss the opportunities with repurposing and repositioning products in commercial real estate in an economy that makes it difficult to create financial returns.

In this episode Caleb and Sascha discuss the challenges of having an in demand product but not being able to roll it out quickly, the gap between supply and demand, the importance of community on every project and WRE’s approach to Space-as-a-Service.

Connect with Sascha on LinkedIn

Connect with Caleb on LinkedIn 

If you have any questions or feedback on this episode, email [email protected]

Value Bombs:

One of the interesting things about ESG is it means something different to different people. For some it's carbon and for others it's about inclusivity. - Sascha

It has to have an emotional connection and that remains our fundamental processing approach. - Sascha

They want to challenge the status quo, do things differently. - Sascha

We're going to see income being generated not anymore, or not entirely by space, but also by providing service. - Sascha

We engaged with the public through public consultation, which we do in most major projects. And this was by far the most respondents we had ever seen. - Sascha

We are not gonna build our own team because we  believe that right now, every building that we develop, we need a different approach. - Sascha

Timestamps: 

(01.32) Why Sascha wanted to attend MIPIM

[03.30] Sascha’s view on the ULI report and whether to bridge the supply and demand, gap investors and asset managers need to invest in ESG initiatives

[05.33] The criteria W.RE look for when an acquisition opportunity comes into their funnel

[10.12] WRE’s work with up and coming consultants

[12.25] WRE’s approach to the S in ESG

[15.02] Their community approach on the Clapham Junction project

[17.38] Does WRE lean into the growth demand for Space-as-a-Service?

[19.59] Does WRE have an inhouse team or do they curate the right operator for an asset?

[23.01] Sascha’s restaurant recommendations in London and Cannes

Resources:

75 Grosvenor Street

ULI 2023 Conference

Clapham Junction Project

Trillion Dollar Hashtag

Shout outs:

Nor Norm

Covivio

Lisette Van Doorn

Daniel Chang

About Sascha Lewin

Sascha Lewin is Chief Executive Officer at W.RE an independent investment, development and asset management specialists in commercial real estate. 

Sponsors:

Headline Sponsor: DeltaQ

DeltaQ is a Top 3 European PropTech solution for reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment. Operating from the centre of Brussels, they have developed a solution that learns to predict the behaviour of a building (in context of comfort and energy use) and leverages these predictions to automatically steer the energy systems.

DeltaQ improves comfort while maximising energy and CO2 savings and allows operational teams to turn their attention to added value work instead of repetitive tasks and constant finetuning.

When deployed over a large volume of buildings, DeltaQ will deliver an important contribution to realising the world’s ambition in the fight against climate change.

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