We are delighted to announce the shortlists & nominations for the AREF Annual Awards 2024.
1. Outstanding Fund Achievement
The Outstanding Fund Achievement Award, exclusively open to AREF Funds, sets a high standard of excellence within the industry. Entrants are required to submit a compelling entry, in no more than 1000 words about why their Fund is Outstanding. A set criteria was used for scoring purposes which can be viewed on the award page here.
The four funds shortlisted for 2024 (in alphabetical order) are:
- Aviva Investors - The Lime Property Fund
- Royal London Asset Management - The Royal London UK Real Estate Fund (RLUKREF)
- Swiss Life Asset Managers - The Property Income Trust for Charities
- Thriving Investments - The Mid Market Rent (‘New Avenue Living’) Fund
2. The AREF Research Award
Launched in 2020, this award was open to all AREF members. Unlike traditional awards, no separate submission paper was required. Instead we want to spotlight the extensive research within our industry by showcasing published work from the period spanning 1st Apri 2023 to 31st March 2024.
A crtieria was set which can be viewed on the award page here.
The following five papers have been shortlisted (in alphabetical order):
- Aviva Investors for their paper 'Breaking Ground - Opportunities in life-sciences real estate'
- Lothbury Investment Management for their paper 'London Office - Amenity & Accessibility' {for a copy of this Lothbury report, please contact [email protected]}.
- Patrizia for their paper 'The role of amenities in strategic asset selection'
- UBS for their paper 'Future green investments: Emerging energy transition infrastructure beyond renewables'
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UBS for their paper 'Green premium: Study of New York and London real estate'
3. Affiliate of the Year
This award recognises the invaluable support provided by many of our Affiliate member firms in various ways. While the efforts of one or two individuals often stand out, the award is presented to the firm as a whole, acknowledging the background support these representatives rely on.
The award is judged on several criteria, including significant activity in key areas, hosting and supporting events or consistently contributing to our affairs over an extended period.
No submission is required for this award.
Nominations are selected by the AREF Team. A vote then takes place by the AREF Board, Management Committee and Team to determine the winne.
The four nominated affiliate firms, and the reasons they were selected, listed alphabetically, are:
- Aztec Group
- Proposing innovative ideas like the CFO breakfast series and paper.
- CBRE
- Recording and producing the GRESB training video for Investors.
- Hosting several events for AREF/PropertyMatch/REIF Investors.
- Sam Carson's contributions to the Stranded Asset & Valuation of Debt papers.
- Citco Group
- Taking the risk to sponsor the first AREF Conference.
- Hosting the first FutureGen An Evening With event featuring Andy Baum.
- Knight Frank
- Jonathan Hale chairing the Outstanding Fund Award judging panel.
- AV team recording the fund award winner video in 2023 and 2024.
- Sponsoring/recording the ongoing Natural Capital initiative this year.
4. The John Cartwright Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution
This award has been renamed as a tribute to our former CEO, John Cartwright, who sadly passed away in December 2023. In the decade to December 2019, John successfully led AREF through a transformational period, setting it up to become the award-winning industry association it is today.
This award is a discretionary award, with nominations selected by the AREF Team. A vote then takes place by the AREF Board, Management Committee and Team to determine the winner. It is awarded to an individual who has gone the extra mile in terms of their personal involvement in our affairs and their commitment to the evolution of the association and the industry.
No submission is required for this award.
The 2024 nominations, listed alphabetically, and the reasons for their selection, are:
- Chantal Beaudoin, Knight Frank Investment Management
- Participation in the GRESB training for Investors recorded interview.
- Helping create a new ESG webpage on the AREF website.
- Contributions to the ongoing Nature project.
- Clare Grimes, GRE Finance
- Contributions to the FutureGen Committee.
- Interviewing on the 'Evening With Series'.
- Contributions to the debt strategy working group meetings.
- Patrick Groves, CMS
- Planning and moderating all three debt panel events for the AREF Debt Event Series.
- Contributions in the planning of the AREF Conference.
- Simon Marx, Lothbury Investment Management
- Contributions to the Research Roundtable event.
- Planning several sessions at the AREF Conference.
- Moderating the Funds Resilience panel at the Conference.
- Jessica Pilz, Fiera Real Estate
- Planning sessions at the AREF Conference.
- Moderating the Natural Capital panel at the Conference.
- Joining the ESG panel session at this year's FutureGen Conference.
- Contributions to the ongoing Nature project.
Further information
To read more about our awards, please visit our Awards page here.
The winners will be announced at The AREF Annual Dinner in September (link).
We wish everyone the best of luck!
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