European Lending Activity Expected to Rise, According to New CBRE Survey

Oslo – June 12, 2025 – Lending activity across Europe is expected to increase in 2025, according to the latest Lender Intentions Survey from global real estate advisor, CBRE. Nearly 80% of lenders plan to increase origination efforts this year, with refinancing identified as the primary driver of demand, according to the findings. Additionally, 40% of respondents noted an improvement in sentiment across various sectors compared to the previous year.

The survey reveals that non-bank lenders, including debt funds, insurance companies, and investment banks, expect stronger origination growth compared to traditional banks. Additionally, when discussing challenges, nearly 70% of lenders identified the uncertain geopolitical landscape as the primary concern for the European lending market in 2025, up from 37% in 2024.

"Despite geopolitical concerns remaining a top challenge, the drive to increase deployment is creating strong liquidity, with lenders raising LTV ratios and reducing pricing to secure deals," says Jorgen Arnesen, Head of Investment Banking, Nordics. "While 'Beds and Sheds' remain a focus, we're seeing a resurgence in interest in Retail and growing appeal for Data Centres and Infrastructure as asset classes."

In terms of sector preferences, Multifamily emerged as the top choice for lending in 2025, favoured by 48% of respondents. Last year, this position was shared with Industrial, which has now dropped to second place, whilst Hotels has risen to third place, with 14% of lenders expressing interest.

The survey also revealed that over 80% of lenders are open to financing alternative assets, consistent with 2024. Living subsectors dominate the alternatives market, occupying the top three positions, while Self-storage has gained traction, moving into fourth place.

Regarding Senior Loans on prime assets, most lenders are willing to lend at LTVs of 50-60%. There is minimal variation by sector, except for Multifamily, which sees LTVs ranging from 52.5% to 65%. Data Centres also have a wider range of 50%-65%, with a median LTV closer to 50%. Compared to 2024, median LTVs remained stable, fluctuating by no more than 1-2 percentage points. Both banks and non-bank lenders reported consistent LTVs overall, with variations noted only in logistics and data centres. For logistics, banks had a median LTV of 55%, while non-banks reported 60%. Conversely, for data centres, banks reported a median of 60% compared to 55% for non-banks.

Sustainability has become a crucial component of lenders’ underwriting strategies. Over 70% of survey participants indicated they would refrain from lending if an asset does not meet specific sustainability criteria or lacks a business plan for improvement. Furthermore, 57% of lenders reported offering more favorable loan terms or margin stepdowns to borrowers whose assets meet sustainability standards.

Notes to Editors: CBRE’s 2025 Lender Intentions Survey was conducted in March and April 2025, with 143 respondents from across Europe participating.