A highly selective and disciplined approach to real estate lending
With expertise dating back four decades, our end-to-end loan platform provides commercial real estate senior debt and whole loan financing for a wide range of property investors and developers. As one of the largest originators of real estate debt in Europe (Source: PFR Top European RED managers 2023), we have deep relationships across the market, allowing us to source attractive deals the broader market may not see. We take the view persistent excess returns come via excellent deal sourcing and a flexible but deliberately selective approach. We provide senior and junior financing to support the acquisition or development of properties across all major sectors (office, retail, industrial, leisure, healthcare, and living sector) across investment grade and non-investment grade assets in the UK and Europe. We also embrace newer sectors and structures that may offer ‘complexity’ or ‘novelty’ premia.
Why invest?
Real estate debt can offer investors a reliable income stream and stability of cash flows with additional diversification benefits. Our approach is focused on managing the downside, primarily by lending against core, essential assets with asset security and strong financial covenants. We also offer investors sustainable solutions, including sustainable transition loans, leveraging our independent credit and governance framework and non-binding environmental, social and governance integration.
Cash flow
Helpful for institutional investors with defined cash-flow criteria.
Diversification
Historic performance demonstrates diversification benefits versus liquid market opportunities.
Illiquidity premium
The private nature of the assets and networks needed to access them typically command an illiquidity premium over comparable liquid credits.
Security
High-quality collateral and strong covenant protection contribute to improved recovery rates in the event of default.
Key risks of real estate debt
Investment risk
The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up. Where investments or loans are in other currencies or countries, values can fluctuate in response to changes in exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.
Illiquidity risk
Certain assets held could, by nature, be hard to value or to sell at a desired time or at a price considered to be fair (especially in large quantities), and as a result their prices could be very volatile.
Complexity risk
Counterparties can be diverse, so successful investment requires appropriate credit analysis and the expertise to understand investment risks.
Investment insights
Investment thinking that brings together the collective insight of Aviva Investors’ teams from across the globe on the key themes influencing markets.
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Relative value in private markets: Positive but selective
29 Jan 2025
Using proprietary data, our private markets research team compares risk and return across sectors.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q4 2024
27 Jan 2025
In our latest private markets deep dive, our research team crunches the data to see how evolving macroeconomic conditions are reflected in private debt returns.
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Infrastructure debt in 2025: Investor research and discipline are key to unlocking value in the sector
23 Jan 2025
European infrastructure debt issuance should pick up as governments look to stimulate their economies and support the energy transition. But with banks keen to fund some of the best opportunities, investors need to maintain their discipline.
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40 years of lending lessons: How four decades in real estate debt has shaped Aviva Investors’ approach
12 Dec 2024
From navigating market crashes to embracing ESG and technology, Adrian Poole and Gregor Bamert reveal how 40 years of real estate debt investing have moulded Aviva Investors’ strategy – and what it takes to stay ahead in a rapidly changing market.
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What’s next for nature? Key takeaways from Biodiversity COP16
11 Dec 2024
Following our participation at COP16, the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, we reflect on the key themes that emerged, outstanding challenges, and what this all means for investors.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q3 2024
30 Oct 2024
In our latest private markets deep dive, our research team crunches the data to see how evolving macro conditions are reflected in private debt returns.
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Seizing the moment: The outlook for real estate debt
24 Sep 2024
Gregor Bamert, Sima Kotecha and Nick Solomon discuss the recovery in real estate debt markets in 2024 and the opportunities emerging.
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Get networking: Will the next decade be a golden age for UK infrastructure?
3 Sep 2024
While there are obstacles to overcome, the coming years could see new opportunities for the UK government and the private sector to work together on infrastructure projects, says Darryl Murphy.
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Real asset stories: Curtain House
8 Aug 2024
In the first instalment of a new series of case studies on our real asset investments, we look at Curtain House, a Victorian warehouse Aviva Investors is converting into a modern, environmentally friendly office building.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q2 2024
6 Aug 2024
In our latest real assets deep dive, our research team explains how our data on illiquidity premia indicates the benefits of a multi-asset approach to private debt investing.
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Relative value in real assets: A spectrum of opportunities
2 Aug 2024
Our real assets research team drills into proprietary data to compare risk and return across sectors.
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A new chapter: Time to prepare for the next phase of the real estate cycle
17 Jul 2024
David Hedalen and Jonathan Bayfield from our real assets research team highlight data that shows real estate markets in the UK and Europe may be on the brink of an important shift.
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The future of green premia in real estate, part two: Searching for value and resilience
8 Jul 2024
Do energy-efficient buildings have more pricing power, and what could that mean for those investing in the built environment? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for the second part of our deep dive into green premia, analysing the investment implications.
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Avoid, reduce, remove, align: Finding climate transition investment opportunities in real assets
3 Jul 2024
In this article, Luke Layfield and Zoe Austin explain four key pillars that can help real asset investors align their strategies with the climate transition and uncover opportunities to deliver attractive returns.
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The future of green premia in real estate, part one: The view from the ground
27 Jun 2024
Do greener buildings have more pricing power, and if so, how much? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for a two-part deep dive on the latest market dynamics.
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Cyclical, structural, vintage: The outlook for real estate equity
10 May 2024
High inflation and rising rates hit activity in real estate markets over the past year. But cautious optimism is now returning to the investment landscape in the UK and Europe, say Imogen Ebbs and George Fraser-Harding.
Seizing the moment: The outlook for real estate debt
Gregor Bamert, Sima Kotecha and Nick Solomon discuss the recovery in real estate debt markets in 2024 and the opportunities emerging.

Private Markets Study 2025
In the seventh edition of the study, we collected the views of 500 institutional investors around the world. We delved into some of the key questions facing private market investors today: Why do they invest in private markets? How do they expect the asset classes to perform over the next few years? What are the biggest barriers to investing today? And how do they incorporate sustainability?

House View
No one can predict the future. But our quarterly House View sets out the collective wisdom of our investment teams on the current state of global markets – and where they might be heading.

Real estate debt team
Meet our real estate debt investment team.

Gregor Bamert
Head of Real Estate Debt

Sima Kotecha
Head of High Yield Strategies, Real Estate Debt
Explore
Private markets
As one of Europe’s largest private markets investment managers, we have the scale to access the full depth and breadth of private markets.
Real estate
Outcome-oriented solutions in real estate, across equity debt and long income, through strategies that span the risk spectrum, from lower-risk options generating long-term income to more opportunistic investments.