Welcome to the EPRA Conference edition of our industry magazine. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you back to our flagship event in person and look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the next few days.

As this is the first conference back in person, we decided to change the format somewhat and convert the entire afternoon to a strategy session looking at the future of our sector.

With inflationary headwinds, rising interest rates and some M&A activity ongoing, there is no more important time for us all to come together and discuss the potential futures for the European listed real estate sector. I do not want this to be a talking shop, though, and an exercise that does not deliver tangible takeaways for us at EPRA but also for you as management teams in this space – so I count on your support and input during the sessions. Many of you may have been through similar exercises in the past in your own companies, but I think the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ can really make this a compelling and fruitful afternoon.

During the conference we will also deliver a new research project looking at the growth of the sector and the building blocks needed to emulate the growth in the US markets. We also deliver some preliminary guidelines that will be built on further over the coming years to help the industry address the growing set of regulations surrounding the EU Taxonomy. This is perhaps the most important piece of legislation facing both companies and investors, and EPRA wants to help its members navigate through it. Nevertheless, this is only the start and we will continue to advocate at an EU level but also work with our partner association in the member states to ensure the industry is aligned and prepared.

I would also like to congratulate all winners of this year’s BPR and sBPR awards and especially those who have won an award for the first time. The increase in the number of companies reporting further demonstrates the importance and acceptance across the industry of the metrics and the transparency they bring.

The magazine has a retail feel this quarter, with interviews of both URW but also the CEOs of Supermarket REIT and Ascencio both looking at retail through a different lens and demonstrating how diverse and robust the retail sector is – I encourage you to read them both.

Finally, as usual, I would like to welcome our newest members; Alternative Income REIT, Bankinter Logistics Socimi, Epic Suisse, KMC Properties, Lazard, Logistea, PIF, Tecom Investments, Ulster University, WEB.