More than property management: strategic property development

In many cases, the property portfolios of institutional owners have grown over the years. Property management is well established, processes run smoothly and responsibilities are clearly defined. But the requirements have changed. Renovation and renewal needs, sustainability requirements, regulation and higher expectations in terms of transparency and reporting all pose additional challenges for owners. At the same time, they also have to identify value potential at an early stage and make well-founded investment decisions.

This raises a fundamental question for pension funds, family offices and other institutional owners in particular: which capabilities should be available in-house, and where does it make sense to draw on external expertise?

From property management to active portfolio management
Professional property management remains the foundation of a well-functioning property portfolio. However, the nature of the task changes as the properties age.

Many portfolios can be managed well for years using established property management structures. However, when major renovations, replacement new builds or repositioning are required, strategic decisions are increasingly required: Which buildings should be developed further? Where do major investments make sense? Which properties are still a good fit for the portfolio strategy in the long term? And how can economic objectives be reconciled with sustainability and regulatory requirements?

This can be challenging, especially with heterogeneous portfolios. Different uses, locations and property strategies require different expertise. In addition, specialist knowledge and expertise in areas such as transactions, development or repositioning are often only required at certain stages. This means that, alongside property development, the organisation of property management is also becoming a key issue.

Balancing in-house capabilities and external expertise
Institutional owners are faced with a classic make-or-buy decision. They can develop additional capabilities internally, procure individual specialist services or outsource parts of their portfolio and asset management to an external partner.

Building up in-house expertise gives the owner more control over the portfolio, but it also ties up human and financial resources in the long term. On the other hand, extensive outsourcing is not the right solution for every owner either. Particularly for properties that account for a significant proportion of the portfolio, responsibility for setting investment objectives, defining the risk profile and making strategic portfolio decisions should often remain in-house. It is not a question of choosing between one or the other, but of combining internal structures with external expertise in a way that makes sense.

Portfolio size is not the only decisive factor in this. Even a relatively small portfolio can require considerable management. The complexity of the work involved is therefore a more important factor than the size of the portfolio.

REdirect as a flexible mandate model
This is exactly where Swiss Prime Site Solutions’ REdirect offering comes in. The advisory service has been available for many years and has recently been selectively expanded. It is aimed at institutional owners who want to continue holding their properties directly but draw on additional capabilities to manage them.

The model was developed based on client needs and has a modular structure. Which tasks are taken on depends on the portfolio, the existing organisation and the specific requirements. The scope ranges from asset and portfolio management to transactions and development projects through to sustainability and reporting.

360-degree perspective
A key element of REdirect is its 360-degree perspective. When it comes to complex real estate issues, it is often not enough to consider just one discipline. For example, a renovation can affect a property’s lettability, value, sustainability performance and long-term positioning at the same time.

Different specialist areas can therefore be brought together within Swiss Prime Site Solutions. The added value lies not only in the expertise of individual specialists. We can draw on the knowledge of an entire real estate organisation and also contribute our experience in managing and developing our own investment vehicles.

Tailored division of tasks
The scope of the collaboration can vary. Existing capabilities on the client side are retained while additional tasks can be added or taken on. The strategic framework and key decisions remain with the owner.

This is also how the model differs from a contribution in kind. The properties are not transferred to another investment vehicle, but instead remain the property of the existing investor. Parts of the portfolio or asset management can still be delegated.

REdirect is managed by a dedicated team within Swiss Prime Site Solutions. The assets under management for these mandates amount to around CHF 2.7 billion. The requirements of a mandate depend not only on the size of the portfolio, but also on the complexity of the assets and the tasks involved.

Practical example: how the edifondo pension fund adds expertise while retaining ownership
The collaboration with the edifondo pension fund shows how this division of responsibilities can work in practice. Real estate makes up a significant share of the pension fund’s assets: at the end of 2025, directly held properties accounted for CHF 105.4 million of the total CHF 444.5 million – around a quarter of the investment portfolio.

With upcoming renovations and the long-term development of individual properties, the need for a range of specialist capabilities has also increased. edifondo has been working with Swiss Prime Site Solutions for several years in these areas. Depending on the requirements, specialists in asset management, transactions, property development, sustainability or reporting can be brought in quickly.