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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Beyond buyout: Why DB schemes are reconsidering their endgame
10 Dec 2025
Significant shifts in the defined benefit (DB) pension schemes landscape mean that as schemes mature, trustees and sponsors now face a broader spectrum of strategic choices. We explain why the choice between buyout and run-on is no longer binary.
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Multi-asset chart of the month for November
25 Nov 2025
It's not just the Magnificent Seven who have been benefitting from the AI investment boom.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q3 2025
12 Nov 2025
Having crunched the data, our private markets research team looks at how evolving macro conditions are impacting private debt returns.
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Aviva Investors’ Social Value Label: Recognising achievements during construction
11 Nov 2025
The newly launched Aviva Investors’ Social Value Label recognises quality practice in the construction supply chain. It will be awarded to contractors who deliver social value when building commercial real estate.
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From niche to core: Asset-based finance emerges as a driving force as private debt markets continue to evolve
7 Oct 2025
Asset-based finance is capturing the attention of institutional investors – from pension schemes to insurers – thanks to its diverse risk-return drivers and its growing role as a strategic building block in investors’ portfolios.
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Solid foundations: The case is building for infrastructure equity
3 Oct 2025
In this article Viktor Dietrich, Research Director for infrastructure, venture capital and natural capital, revisits the case for investing in European infrastructure equity. He suggests reasons why small-to-mid-sized opportunities should feature prominently on investors’ radar.
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Multi-asset chart of the month for September
17 Sep 2025
This month’s chart looks at the Magnificent Seven group of stocks and explores whether – rather than being a bubble akin to the dotcom era – their high valuations are justified by high earnings.
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Energy-intensive industries: Unlocking low-carbon investment
16 Sep 2025
Vital industries for UK growth like steel or cement are also energy intensive, and their decarbonisation is essential. We convened a roundtable of experts to discuss barriers and solutions to unlocking low-carbon investment opportunities.
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RELI’s return: Why real estate long income (RELI) has a growing fanbase
11 Sep 2025
After falling out of favour following the 2022 UK mini-budget crisis, real estate long income is making something of a comeback. Fund managers Renos Booth and Kris McPhail explain why it is starting to attract interest from a variety of investors.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q2 2025
14 Aug 2025
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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Building advantage: Finding a competitive edge in European high yield real estate debt
14 Jul 2025
While opportunities in European high yield real estate debt remain, growing competition underscores the need for deep market expertise, a robust underwriting framework, and disciplined deal selection to identify and capture resilient value.
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Show me the value: Investing in carbon removal, part three
11 Jul 2025
In this article, we explore the potential benefits of carbon removal strategies for institutional investors.
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MegaTRENDs: Why TRENDs matter for investing in private markets
27 Jun 2025
A set of megatrends is reshaping the world, creating new opportunities and risks for investments in private markets.
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Show me the value: Investing in carbon removal, part two
2 Jun 2025
In this article, we explore the different types of carbon credits, the development of the markets on which they are bought and sold, and how institutions can use them to achieve their investment and sustainability goals.
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Show me the value: Investing in carbon removal, part one
28 May 2025
New markets are emerging to enable institutions to invest in nature and potentially achieve sustainability-related objectives alongside key financial outcomes.
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Illiquidity premia in private debt: Q1 2025
16 May 2025
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.
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.
Sustainable transition loans framework
We are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our portfolio and future proofing our assets against physical and transition climate risks.
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
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.