The UK is a nation struggling to redefine itself. The transatlantic “special relationship” is under unprecedented strain. Post-Brexit, the country’s position as the bridge to continental Europe for foreign capital has been undermined. And its pre-eminence as Europe’s financial center is no longer uncontested.

The election of a Labour government with a huge parliamentary majority in July 2024 provided a degree of stability. But there is a growing perception that faced with a legacy of high national debt and crumbling public services, the new administration’s efforts to improve productivity and boost growth are already faltering.

“The UK is a great place to invest, but it has got to step up and find its place again in the world, and we are not doing that right now,” says Neil Slater, chief executive officer of asset manager, “It is incumbent upon business leaders to play a role.” 

That will be a taxing challenge in the unsettled global business and geopolitical climate which serves as the backdrop to PERE’s UK roundtable discussion. It takes place a few weeks after the Trump administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement and the subsequent rollback of the more extreme reciprocal tariffs in the face of unrest in global markets.

It is difficult to know what the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation will be even a few weeks hence, notes Arvi Luoma, head of European equity at manager Cain International. “That makes people hesitant, so the immediate effect has been that some decisions have been paused.”

That is true not just of real estate investors, but also of businesses, households and consumers, says Greg Kane, head of European investment research at PGIM Real Estate. And hesitancy about capital spending, hiring and expansion is bound to have an impact on demand for real estate.