Real estate is a strategic opportunity for companies

The weight and perceived value of real estate among business leaders (manufacturing and services) is growing as a means of supporting business activity. This is the finding of Cbre's inaugural C-Suite Perspectives research, which captures the opinions of more than 250 C-Suite leaders in Europe and the US, revealing that 94% of them consider real estate to be important in achieving core business objectives.

According to the research, half of the respondents believe that real estate will become even more important in the next three years, a view shared by 63% of chief executive officers and chief operating officers. At the sector level, 81% of manufacturing companies expect real estate to become more important and are preparing to manage their real estate assets more proactively.
Not only that. For 72% of the sample, real estate is already having a positive impact in achieving core objectives.

This significant change can also be observed in Italy: the research shows that 87 per cent of Italian C-Suite leaders recognise the role of real estate in achieving their core objectives, with 43 per cent expecting it to become increasingly important over the next three years.

"We are at a turning point for real estate, where property management contributes to generating value for the organisation itself," says Fabio Mantegazza, head of advisory & transaction services Italy at Cbre. Companies are increasingly realising how crucial the quality and design of workspaces is to achieving their strategic objectives. Well-designed offices are emerging as essential to creating a solid corporate culture and attracting high-profile talent, contributing to the growth and success of the organisation'.
Fabio Mantegazza adds: 'In this landscape, the ability to navigate the complex dynamics of the real estate market is proving crucial to transforming these aspirations into concrete results.

A further finding from C-Suite Perspectives is that leaders want better working environments for their employees. Priorities include flexible leasing, cost savings and better performance metrics to encourage adaptability, resilience and continuity of workspaces.
In particular, in Italy, 70% of C-Suite leaders want flexible and 'future-proof' workspaces, while 96% see real estate as a reflection of corporate culture for stakeholders.