Investor case study

Aviva Investors

Jonathan Bayfield, Head of UK Real Estate Research at Aviva Investors

The data helps us to make better investment decisions

The Pandemic has had systemic consequences for places and how people use them. Covid-19 has accelerated change in existing trends. It has also created new ones.

Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’) has sought to build these thematic changes into its investment process. The speed of change made decision-making complex. Trends that unfolded over years changed shape in days.

The Challenge

The challenge for Aviva Investors was how to stay informed. Conventional indicators report monthly at best. Other data lacked the detail to be useful. Aviva Investors needed access to high-frequency data with granular capabilities.

The Solution

As one of the largest European real assets investment managers, Aviva Investors looked for data that reflected how much activity is taking place in different parts of the economy. Key metrics centre on how people use places, and how that changes with time. Topics include the measurement of pedestrian footfall levels, store-visits and workplace presence.

Huq Industries offers effective measurement of these KPIs through its macro indicators outputs. This mobility-derived product allows for comparisons by sub-market, or industry, and geographic region. Huq’s mobility data has full timestamp coverage. This enables its macro indicators to be published daily with a 48-hour lag. These attributes make it ideal for measuring fast-paced change in great detail.

Over the last 15 months Huq has supported Aviva Investors in its analysis of UK and European Real Asset spatial trends. Aviva Investors draws on 30+ verified indices from Huq Industries’ Macro Indicators catalogue. Sectors measured are as diverse as waste plants, hotels, data centres and airports. In addition, regional outputs contrast office usage across 16 major cities on 3 continents. Huq’s measurement platform for cities and retail, provides Footfall and Catchment Area data and how that changes with time.