Lahlou KHELIFI, Non-Executive Member of the Advisory Board of AG Capital, talked to Kapital Media in Sofia recently, commenting on top issues and trends, influencing the real estate sector in Bulgaria and in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
We are enclosing a summary in English on several topics he addressed with highlights from his interview:
Joining AG Capital’s Advisory Board
Lahlou Khelifi joined AG Capital’s Advisory Board earlier this year, the latter having been established in 2023 within the company’s corporate strategy and vision for achieving a growing and successful presence in the countries from the Central and Eastern European region (CEE).
“When I met Christo Iliev at INSEAD in Singapore, I saw that he has a very clear vision of how AG Capital should develop as a strong regional real estate platform. Getting to know the spirit of the company through its key employees in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, I am happy to see all the values that have been established and are shared throughout the teams in the group. Partnering with AG Capital and coming to Bulgaria is an excellent opportunity to both work in, and discover Central and Eastern Europe. For me that is another way to continue to do what I like to do – to transmit what I have learned”, said Lahlou Khelifi.
The Future of Real Estate, Changes that Form an Impact and the Rise of New Flexible Zones
Describing the latest state of the real estate sector, Lahlou Khelifi explains that the major changes that we have seen, since private equity entered the sector, have moved the property concept from simply land or buildings, into new dynamics, where buildings are a must-have asset for businesses, but now services have become key: “Today, the real estate market is a product that delivers services as well. With this market development to date, the value of real estate lowers if you don’t deliver high-quality services. This development has not only changed work and investment patterns, but has brought many new challenges to management”.
“The dynamics in today’s world are really high, and forecasts are becoming more and more difficult, crises follow one after another. But we deal with such crises every 10 years, and though challenging, it is not something that should worry us too much. What is new now, is the evolution of behaviour, mainly because of the Pandemic, which accelerated all new types of consumption. The ageing population, the evolution of the climate, everything related to the car industries – these are also factors that have their influence. And then you have the expanding countries, like Poland, where it’s more attractive for investors to invest as of now. But it’s also a competitive country, as a lot of people are there. It is possible that these changes that are now shaking the markets, become the new normal we will be adapting to, and the crisis will therefore end”, adds Lahlou Khelifi in revealing the major factors impacting change in the economies and real estate as a whole.
Addressing the new behaviour, he speaks on one more trend that is not expected to change in the foreseeable future – the transformation of cities into flexible zones where everything is in one place and co-exists with ease. “Today’s employees don’t want to commute hours to work, they are looking for coworking spaces within the neighbourhoods they live in. Life changes and so does real estate business, following the trends”, points out Lahlou Khelifi.
Business Values Defining Success
Asked to comment on his experience on what really drives success in business, he said: “I believe that in any organisation, which has a solid past and a promising future, we can find two key features – vision and values. Finance and real estate are sectors where people are the main capital and driving force. At the end of the day, every manager needs to rely on his team, and if he doesn’t care about it, then problems are definitely there. At AG Capital I keep meeting people, who in addition to being seasoned real estate experts, have also been close friends for a long time”.
Lahlou Khelifi also commented on topics covering the perspective for global interest rates, the difficulties in determining certain asset classes as more attractive than others, and on the results from the recent European Parliament elections. ”The real estate sector, like other businesses, needs political stability to ensure sustainable regulation and a secure tax environment”, said Lahlou Khelifi.
The whole interview is available in Bulgarian at Kapital Media
Lahlou Khelifi
Non-Executive Member of the Advisory Board of AG Capital
Lahlou Khélifi is an investment banker specialised in Real Estate with 30-year experience in Investment, Asset Management, M&A, and Development, mainly in Europe, but also in South America, Asia and Africa. He has been working for companies such as Goldman Sachs, Doughty Hanson, Lazard and others. Lahlou holds a professional degree in Urbanism from “Sciences Po” in Paris and an MBA from INSEAD, where he also teaches the Real Estate elective. He has been awarded France’s academic honour, Knight in the Order of the Academic Palms, for his dedication to professional education.
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