Arcadis has joined the Oxford Future of Real Estate Initiative at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The Initiative, founded in 2018, was set up by real estate industry veteran Professor Andrew Baum – author of the groundbreaking Proptech 3.0 report – to research and predict the changes faced by the industry over the next decade. In addition to Arcadis, The Crown Estate has also joined the initiative.
Bringing together academics and industry experts from world-leading property businesses, the Future of Real Estate Initiative aims to understand the drivers of change influencing the real estate industry. With a focus on technology and innovation, the initiative will deliver thought-leading research aimed at informing the real estate community and igniting debate on the future of the industry.
Arcadis is a leading global design and consultancy for the natural and built environment. Its ethos is to improve everyday quality of life by creating spaces where people want to live, work and play, improving mobility and making best use of natural resources. The company has a long history of innovation. Whether looking at how to meet the UK’s growing data needs, or how companies can improve their workplace environment, it has long been at the forefront of designing a world for the next generation.
Edel Christie, MD of Buildings at Arcadis, said:
“Whether it is raising new forms of capital through crowdsourcing, speeding up the house buying and selling process or embracing smart contracting through blockchain technology, the rapid acceleration of digital technology is transforming the real estate and property market for the better.
‘With Proptech 3.0 only in its infancy, the partnership with the world-renowned Oxford University and Saïd Business School comes at an opportune moment for our sector. Through thought provoking research, the partnership will allow us to stay ahead of the curve, collaborate with new players in the market and ultimately create the products that will help improve everyday quality of life for our clients and their customers all around the UK.”
The Crown Estate is a £14bn UK real estate business specialising in commercial property in central London, prime regional retail and leisure destinations and offshore wind. Its assets include the complete length of Regent Street and around half the buildings in St James’s. The Crown Estate has a substantial rural and coastal portfolio and manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Established by an Act of Parliament, as an independent commercial business, it returns 100% of its annual profits to the Treasury for the benefit of the public finances. This has totalled £2.7bn over the last ten years.
Rob Chesworth, The Crown Estate’s Head of Strategy – Corporate, said:
“We are already working with our customers to better understand how changes in the way that people live, work and spend their time are impacting upon their businesses, and our own. Many of these changes arise from the disruptive technologies and digital tools that sit at the heart of the transformation already underway within the real estate sector.
“We are delighted to be working with Oxford University and Saïd Business School as part of the Future of Real Estate Initiative. We look forward to collaborating with our partners to enhance the industry’s understanding of how technology is impacting our customers’ lives and businesses.”
Eight companies now support the Oxford Future of Real Estate Initiative: Arcadis, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CBRE, The Crown Estate, EY, Nuveen Real Estate, Redevco and UBS.
“We are extremely proud to have these companies support us,” said Professor Baum. “They are contributing to world class research into the future of the industry. The research we conduct will be publicly available, so the whole global real estate community will benefit from the work we do here in Oxford. This initiative will run for four years and there will be regular publications during this period.”
“93% of tech start-ups fail to last more than three years, but those who prosper will have a radical impact, and it is of vital importance for companies to understand exactly what changes they will bring,” stated Professor Baum.
