Where Blackstone still senses potential

Frankfurt Blackstone President Jonathan Gray recently explained the art of a good deal: Investing is always about seeing something that others don’t see or they see differently. Now the US financial investor has obviously identified a new attractive opportunity: the shaky European real estate market. “It’s true that investors are more cautious at the moment,” said James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone, in an interview with Handelsblatt. “But for us at Blackstone, the next 18 months could be very interesting as an investor. We are certainly looking for new investments.”

Seppala acknowledged that it is an uncertain time with conflicting data and trends. “There are legitimate reasons to be cautious: the interest rate environment has changed and the macroeconomic picture is challenging – also of course due to the fact that Europe is at war.”