A Day of Conversation in Our London Office: Hosting Property Week & Investment Week Roundtables
Earlier this month, Catalyst hosted two roundtables in our London office in partnership with Property Week and Investment Week. Bringing both publications together on the same day allowed us to connect two parts of the market: asset-level operators in the morning and capital allocators in the afternoon. It created a clear view of the pressures, expectations and realities shaping decisions as 2026 approaches.
Catalyst works across ESG, technical due diligence, data, asset management and investment strategy, so facilitating these kinds of conversations is a natural extension of the work we do with clients and industry partners. Both sessions were kept deliberately informal, with a focus on open and honest discussion rather than presentations or slide decks.
We were pleased to welcome leading editors from Property Week and Investment Week to chair the sessions, with Catalyst represented throughout the day by members of our ESG and leadership teams.
Around the Room
Before either session began, the meeting suite was already busy with conversation. Our guests used the time to reconnect, compare notes and share what they were seeing across portfolios and investment committees. It set the tone early: open, practical and grounded in day-to-day experience.
The atmosphere stayed that way throughout the day. Participants moved easily between the structured discussions and the informal conversations that happened in the breaks. Some of the most useful points surfaced before anyone sat at the table or just after the sessions wrapped up.
Sessions like these remind us why in-person discussion remains so valuable. It gives people the space to speak plainly, test ideas and compare reality with others who are working through the same pressures.
Property Week Roundtable
The morning session was held in partnership with Property Week and chaired by Mel Flaherty, Deputy Editor. The discussion brought together senior figures from across the property sector to compare what they are seeing in live assets, development pipelines and portfolio planning as 2026 approaches.
Participants included representatives from Barings, Helical, SEGRO, Grosvenor, BlackRock, BNP Paribas Real Estate, DWS, Fiera Real Estate, Canary Wharf Group, City of London Corporation and Stantec. Catalyst was represented by Eoin Leonard, CEO.
The session opened with a clear focus on the property fundamentals that are shaping decisions today: how assets are performing, what is holding back upgrades, where capital is moving and how regulatory expectations are influencing project timelines. Rather than revisiting broad ESG talking points, the group concentrated on the practical constraints and opportunities across development, refurbishment and asset management.
Key Themes
→How ESG benchmarks and scores are being used in early-stage screening and internal discussions
→The balance between reported credentials and the underlying evidence that sits behind them
→The practical challenges of improving assets within existing budget, time and physical constraints
→The influence of sustainability performance on value, risk and appetite to invest or dispose
In the end, the group aligned on a simple point: stronger investment decisions need stronger supporting data — particularly when assets, timelines and regulatory expectations are all moving at once.
Networking Session
With the morning discussion complete, the room shifted pace. Over coffee and lunch, guests from both roundtables mixed easily, comparing notes on assets, markets and priorities for the year ahead. The energy lifted, the conversations broadened and the second half of the day began to take shape long before anyone returned to their seat.
Members of the Catalyst team were on hand throughout the break, including David Wallace (Chief Commercial Officer), Ian Laverty (Chief Revenue Officer), Jack Dinneen (Chief Operations Officer), Jamie Bergin (Commercial Director), Sandra Fives (Chief Strategy Officer, ESG) and Shauna Mahon (Marketing Manager). The atmosphere was relaxed and genuinely lively, with informal conversations often surfacing the most candid insights of the day.
Bringing people together in person continues to prove its value. The unscripted moments often reveal just as much as the structured agenda.
Investment Week Roundtable
The afternoon session was held in partnership with Investment Week and chaired by Katrina Lloyd, Editor-in-Chief. While the morning focused on the realities of the built asset, the afternoon brought a clear capital-markets perspective. The conversation centred on how investors are interpreting sustainability information, risk signals and regulatory change in the current market.
Catalyst was represented by Sandra Fives (Chief Strategy Officer, ESG) with senior figures from portfolio management, stewardship, ESG and risk teams across a range of investment firms. The group stayed close to how decisions are actually being made: which information is genuinely useful, what remains unclear and where managers feel the strongest pressure to demonstrate progress.
The discussion opened with a focus on how sustainability considerations are being integrated into established investment processes rather than handled as a separate track. Participants compared how far these approaches have matured, where integration is still uneven and which regulatory developments are now influencing timelines and appetite.
Key Themes
→How ESG performance is being evaluated within investment committees and LP conversations
→Where reporting frameworks help with fundraising — and where inconsistent data creates friction
→How managers are assessing climate-risk, resilience and evidence requirements under tighter scrutiny
→The ongoing tension between market pressures today and longer-term transition plans investors expect
If the morning tested operational claims, the afternoon tested investment logic — and neither left much room for guesswork. Stronger decisions now hinge on stronger evidence.
Closing Remarks & Upcoming Publications
The day made clear how aligned the pressures are from asset level to capital allocation. Both Property Week and Investment Week will be publishing coverage that reflects the real conversations, viewpoints and quotes from the sessions. We’ll share these once they go live. Looking to 2026, expect more opportunities to dig into ESG expectations, evidence and decision-making with the same level of candour.
New Whitepaper: Sustainability's Impact on Investment
We’ve also published our latest whitepaper exploring how sustainability performance is shaping investment decisions across real estate in 2025 and beyond. It examines the evidence investors now prioritise, the pressure points across portfolios, and where risk and value are shifting.
Submit your details below to receive your copy.
Keep in touch
If you’d like to speak with a member of the Catalyst team or be kept informed about future events and publications, you can get in touch with us by emailing sales@catalyst-group.com or fill out your details below.
