COIMA RES also continued its path of transparency and dialogue with the market. In recognition of this, we were proud to receive the Gold Award from EPRA for our financial and sustainability reporting for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the website www.coimares.com has improved its positioning in the Webranking research, for the third year in a row. This research is conducted by Comprend and Lundquist and evaluates the transparency of corporate communication of listed companies: today COIMA RES ranks number 18 out of a group of 122 listed Italian companies participating in the research.
It is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid conversion of typical working models, with most employees working remotely with a seemingly limited impact on productivity. The experience of recent months has fuelled a debate on how work will be organized after the first contingent phase of the pandemic and the need for office space by companies has been questioned, especially at a time when the global economic crisis will lead companies to revise their hiring plans, their organisational models, and their cost base.
We believe that the foreseeable increase in the adoption of the practice of remote work in Italy and Milan will affect the demand of tenants for office space both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view. Our view is that aggregate demand for office space could decrease marginally, but that at the same time tenants will be more attentive to the quality of the space they lease: this will support the demand for office space and properties with advanced features from the point of view of environmental sustainability and which are able to put people at the centre by encouraging collaboration and creativity, acting as real productivity tools for businesses.
In particular, we believe that the polarization between neighbourhoods will further consolidate and accelerate, and that qualified neighbourhoods (i.e. neighbourhoods which are well connected to the public transport network, equipped with a good availability of services, wellness options and the presence of quality public spaces, and characterized from a high degree of diversification in terms of end uses) will continue to meet strong interest from office tenants, maintaining a limited level of vacancy.
The current economic and market context is not without challenges: COIMA RES is ready to transform these challenges into opportunities with the aim of generating value for its customers, for its shareholders and in a broader sense for the citizens of the territories in which we operate.
Best regards,
Manfredi Catella
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, COIMA RES