Ismael Clemente, CEO of MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A. (MC: MRL), sat down for a video interview during Nareit’s REITweek: 2025 Investor Conference in New York City June 2-5.
MERLIN mainly invests in offices, shopping centers, logistics facilities, and data centers in Spain’s Iberian region. Clemente said fundamentals in those areas are strong, noting that private consumption is “clearly high,” which is driving online and offline shopping.
Clemente pointed out that the rate of work from home in Spain has been fairly low, and office occupancy post-pandemic remains high. The conversion of some office space into residential has had a beneficial impact on the remaining office stock, he noted. Meanwhile, strong opportunities exist in the data center space, he said, where MERLIN is building properties from scratch. This is the REIT’s main avenue for growth in the coming years, he said.
Clemente also noted that transactions overall have slowed due to political uncertainty.