Federated Hermes Real Estate, a responsible real estate investment manager, has joined forces with TRUUD to examine and deliver health as an element of the built urban environment.
TRUUD (Tackling Root causes upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development) is a £10m research project, based at the University of Bristol, looking at how urban centres can be planned to reduce health inequalities.
Federated Hermes Real Estate is an international institutional investment manager with $8.3bn (as at September 30, 2023) of commercial real estate assets under management, offering client-focused property investment solutions.
Federated Hermes is supporting TRUUD’s real estate research intervention led by the University of Reading to help understand and change the way investors put a value on urban health outcomes. Federated Hermes Real Estate will provide access and share expertise on two placemaking projects, St Mary le Port, Bristol, and Paradise Birmingham, to examine how TRUUD’s health evaluation tool, HAUS, can aid investment decision-making.
This innovative collaboration builds on findings from 21 in-depth interviews and follow-on consultations with professionals in real estate finance and investment which revealed that investors want to act on healthier, socially sustainable cities. However, a lack of robust evidence on health benefits is an often cited barrier and a shared private-public sector narrative on healthy development is needed for impactful delivery.
Kathy Pain, Professor of Real Estate Development at the University of Reading Henley Business School said: “The longstanding enthusiasm of Federated Hermes for engaging in this collaboration provides an opportunity to explore how health evidence can be incorporated in investment management company decision-making for societal wellness and prosperity.”
Chris Taylor, Head of Real Estate, Federated Hermes Ltd., adds: “Our long track record in placemaking and urban regeneration has shown us that the built environment has huge potential to create more meaningful cities, providing citizens with a sense of belonging and relevance as well as addressing health and wellbeing issues. We are proud to be partnering with TRUUD to support their pioneering research into valuing health outcomes and look forward to integrating these findings into our investment decision-making process to drive greater health equality in the societies in which we operate.”
