European commercial real estate is entering a period where stability alone is no longer enough. Investors, tenants, and cities are demanding more flexibility, stronger performance, and clearer value creation. According to Roksolana Pyrtko, a commercial real estate expert focused on European market dynamics, the UAE offers practical examples of how real estate can remain competitive under pressure — but only if Europe adapts the right mechanisms rather than copying the system blindly.
The expert points out that the European market is built on legal predictability, mature financing, and institutional discipline. In contrast, the UAE — especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi — operates with a speed and execution mindset that accelerates leasing, investment cycles, and asset repositioning. These differences matter. Still, Roksolana Pyrtko believes several UAE practices can be translated into a European context in a realistic and profitable way — starting with how quickly owners act, and how clearly assets are positioned in the market.
Faster Execution Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage
Speed is not a “nice to have” anymore — it is increasingly part of commercial performance. Roksolana Pyrtko notes that the UAE market is built around execution: leasing decisions are made faster, negotiations move with fewer delays, and asset repositioning happens while demand still exists, not after it disappears.
In Europe, the strongest assets can still lose momentum simply because decisions take too long. Modern tenants operate in a volatile economy and often need fast answers on incentives, fit-out support, timelines, and flexibility. As the expert explains, owners who can respond quickly don’t just close deals faster — they reduce vacancy periods and protect income stability in uncertain cycles.
But speed alone doesn’t create long-term competitiveness. It only works when the asset itself is managed in a way that tenants perceive as higher quality and more valuable than alternatives.
Treating Commercial Real Estate as a Product, Not Just a Building
This is where Roksolana Pyrtko sees one of the clearest lessons from the UAE. In prime locations, commercial buildings are rarely treated as “just space.” They are managed as products — with a clear identity, consistent service standards, and an experience that tenants and visitors can feel. This approach is most visible in retail and mixed-use assets, where property management is structured around footfall, tenant performance, and long-term destination value.
Europe has no shortage of strong buildings, but many assets are still operated like static infrastructure: leased, maintained, and accounted for — without a real strategy for why the building wins in the market. The competitive edge increasingly comes from operational quality: reliable service response, smooth building usability, modern shared amenities, and a value proposition that goes beyond “good location and decent price.”
This is not about superficial marketing. It’s about measurable drivers of occupancy and retention — because performance today is shaped as much by experience and functionality as it is by square meters.
Once an asset is treated like a product, upgrades stop being a technical checkbox — and become a tool for protecting income and pricing power.
Upgrades Should Be Linked to Revenue, Not Only Compliance
Across Europe, ESG rules and energy-performance targets have turned renovation into a constant conversation — but in many cases, owners approach it like a tax: something you pay to stay “allowed” on the market. Roksolana Pyrtko sees this as a missed opportunity. The UAE’s commercial real estate market often treats upgrades differently: as a positioning move designed to protect occupancy and justify rent, not simply to satisfy compliance.
In practical terms, Roksolana Pyrtko argues that capex decisions should start with a leasing question: what exactly will make tenants choose this building over the alternative? Sometimes it’s comfort and health factors like air quality and temperature stability. Sometimes it’s frictionless access and security. Sometimes it’s better shared areas that support modern work patterns. The common point is that these improvements aren’t “nice to have” — they influence retention and pricing power.
This is where European assets often lose value quietly: not through dramatic vacancy, but through slow erosion. Tenants renew, but negotiate harder. New tenants come, but only with incentives. And the asset starts competing on price instead of quality.
Roksolana Pyrtko recommends a more commercial approach: treat upgrades as a revenue strategy. If a retrofit doesn’t improve occupancy stability, reduce churn, or support stronger rents, it needs to be questioned — even if it looks good on paper. Owners who communicate upgrade roadmaps clearly also reduce tenant uncertainty. Tenants don’t just rent a space — they rent confidence that the building will remain competitive throughout the lease term.
Conclusion: Roksolana Pyrtko’s View — Adopt the Tools, Not the Model
European commercial real estate doesn’t need to imitate Dubai to stay relevant. But as the expert explains, it does need to operate with fewer delays, stronger visibility, and clearer value creation — because capital and tenants have more options than ever.
Roksolana Pyrtko believes Europe can adopt UAE-style tools that work inside European rules: faster execution, a more product-driven asset mindset, and upgrades linked to rent strength rather than compliance alone. If applied carefully, these practices modernise portfolios without sacrificing what Europe does best — stability, governance, and real fundamentals.
