New York, NY, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Joe Sitt, Chairman of leading global real estate firm, Thor Equities Group, spoke with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street team on February 28th to discuss the booming data center market, voracious appetite for new technology, interest from investors, and more on the evolving commercial real estate landscape.
On Squawk on the Street, Joe Sitt shared his views on the rapid advancing of artificial intelligence that is driving the demand for data center storage. To illustrate his point, Mr. Sitt referenced Thor Equities’ new development in Spain, which had an original budget of 400M Euros but quickly escalated to 2.6B Euros due to demand from a potential tenant.
Mr. Sitt also discussed Thor’s method of observing trends from a “global point of view” and the potential “bipolar separation of the world” which could cause companies to cease business in countries like Russia and China and create a race to bring chip jobs to the US and accelerate manufacturing. When asked about other companies investing in data centers, he commended Blackstone and their team for their pioneering strategies and pivot to data centers over a decade ago, declaring there is a vast market with vast opportunities. One of those opportunities being Mexico, a country Mr. Sitt said “presents an incredible opportunity in every asset class”. Thor Equities has been the most active developer in the country over the last ten years across all asset classes through its Latin American division, Thor Urbana. Mr. Sitt recently spoke on Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week regarding investments in Latin America.
When asked about the office market, Mr. Sitt shared Thor is a thematic investor “constantly pivoting to where the demand is” after developing properties for different types of office users. Once office properties became stressed, Thor was able to free capital which allowed the company to chase industrial real estate and data centers, Thor’s largest convictions currently. He concluded there may be light at the end of the tunnel and “offices could regenerate to its highest and best use, which may be data centers”.
Mr. Sitt’s full interview can be found on Thor Equities YouTube channel and CNBC.com.
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About Thor Equities Group
Thor Equities is a leader in the development, leasing and management of industrial, laboratory, residential, office, hotel and mixed-use assets in premier urban locations worldwide. The company operates in major cities around the globe and has a property portfolio totaling $20 billion with a development pipeline in excess of 50 million square feet. Thor has a strong presence on three continents and in addition to its US holdings, the company has assets in European gateway cities including London, Paris, Madrid, and Milan, and is the largest developer in Mexico through its Latin American division with a development pipeline of over 20 million square feet. Thor maximizes returns for institutional investors by recognizing a property’s potential, reducing operating expenses, increasing tenant satisfaction, and leveraging market trends to maintain a long-term competitive edge. For more information, visit www.thorequities.com.