Last week’s London Real Estate Leadership: 2026 Forecast brought together market leaders to discuss the year ahead — and the message was clear: 2026 will be a rising tide, but it won’t lift all boats. Performance will vary significantly across asset types, locations, and income profiles, with the market’s focus shifting firmly back towards quality. Alongside this, data centre demand continues to build at pace, with power availability now one of the key drivers of development decisions.
For those working in façade delivery, these trends point to a simple direction: tighter programme alignment, clearer performance expectations and solutions that unlock value where rental growth is strongest.
A few themes stood out during the discussions:
- A focus on the “good stuff”. Where rental growth is evident and fundamentals are strong, activity is moving faster.
- A K-shaped recovery is emerging. Not all assets will perform equally, and discipline will matter more than optimism.
- Offices are firmly back where the income story adds up and tenants are prioritising quality and experience.
- Data centres remain a major growth area, with power enabled sites now among the most valuable opportunities in the market.
These themes reflect what we’ve seen throughout the past year: the market is becoming increasingly selective, and high performing assets will continue to outpace the rest.
Offices Are Back — With Higher Expectations
Where demand is strong, offices are picking up again — but expectations have shifted. The envelope now plays a central role in how attractive and efficient a building is, shaping everything from energy performance to tenant experience.
For refurbishment and repositioning schemes, targeted façade upgrades can lift an asset quickly and unlock leasing potential. For new builds, unitised systems and pre tested interfaces continue to support speed, coordination and quality.
Across both, comfort, efficiency and experience remain front and centre — and the façade is a major contributor to all three.
Data Centre Demand Continues to Rise
Another clear takeaway was the continued rise in data centre demand. Over the past six months, the sector has accelerated significantly, with power enabled sites now amongst the most in demand development opportunities.
This shift introduces new requirements for envelope design — from thermal and air flow performance to resilience and repeatable delivery models — as the sector evolves at pace.
Looking Ahead
2026 is shaping up to be defined by selectivity, performance and value creation. With the office market regaining momentum and data centres continuing to grow, the façade sits right at the centre of how assets perform, lease and respond to future requirements.
As always, our focus remains on practical decisions made early — supporting our clients, partners and delivery teams to achieve the right outcomes.
