Aroundtown:  Data centres and conversions to drive growth

European listed property developer Aroundtown is focusing on asset conversions, proptech innovations, and data centre developments to capture value amidst shifting market dynamics, according to Timothy Wright, chief capital markets officer.

Timothy Wright

While demand across Aroundtown's living portfolio remains strong, weaker economic conditions have put pressure on the office sector. Rather than waiting for market recovery, the firm is proactively converting underutilised office properties into higher-yielding asset classes.

"The demand in living—residential and hotel—is very strong, while offices are relatively weak because the economy is not running so well," Wright told CRE Media Europe at EXPO REAL. "We’re looking now for a lot of conversions into stronger asset classes. You can sit and wait to find a tenant... or do something proactively to capture the upside in cash flow and create long-term value."

Aroundtown is repurposing selected office assets in major digital infrastructure hubs—including Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Warsaw—into data centres, as the potential rent upside significantly outweighs development costs.

It is also unlocking new revenue streams in hotel lobbies via ATworld, an in-house workspace platform that now spans over 2,500 partner locations globally (including co-working spaces, lounges, and cafes) to monetise underutilised space.

Hospitality and data centres

Among Aroundtown’s core sectors, hospitality and residential continue to perform exceptionally well alongside data centres.

The recovery in European travel has provided a strong tailwind for the firm’s hotel portfolio across Southern Europe—including prime leisure and business destinations in Italy, Spain, Portugal (Lisbon), and Greece—as well as major European business centres.

At the same time, CEE markets are demonstrating solid fundamentals as corporate back-office functions and technical operations continue expanding into the region.

PropTech and strategic partnerships

Through its innovation platform, ATECHX, the company collaborates with major industry peers—including Vonovia, LEG, and Grand City Properties—alongside venture capital firms to incubate and scale proptech startups.

By offering early-stage companies direct access to real estate assets for live pilots, Aroundtown gains a first-mover advantage on solutions spanning AI, operational efficiency, and proptech revenue models.

Opportunities and realism

Addressing the prevailing sentiment at EXPO REAL, Wright observed a shift from macroeconomic pessimism toward identifying value-add opportunities.

"Sentiment has been negative over recent years with interest rate shifts and inflation, but people are now starting to look for the opportunity in the crisis," Wright said. "Prices in public markets are becoming very attractive, and we see significant opportunity ahead, both through asset conversions and potential market consolidation."

Branislav Pekic