In response to COVID-19, UBM Development shifted its strategic focus away from hotels to residential and office real estate, with particular emphasis on ESG principles. Consequently, its €2.3bn pipeline as at end-2020 (vs €2.5bn at end-2019) included €1.25bn in residential projects (covering 3,000+ units) and €750m in ‘new type’ office investments after it re-classified all hotel projects in pre-construction stage. Hotels already under construction are scheduled for completion in FY21 but are unlikely to be sold before the market fully recovers. While UBM did not make any major project acquisitions in 2020, it continues to search for new opportunities with a €247m cash balance at end-2020. Management aims at returning to pre-COVID-19 earnings level in FY22.
