According to the report JLL Global Real Estate Perspective 2025: Development Capital Transitions, European development projects are seeing a shift toward earlier participation of institutional investors. Lower interest rates, a reassessment of financing models, and strong demand for new assets have led forward-purchase and forward-funding structures to form a growing share of construction-stage transactions. 

Capital is moving into segments where demand patterns ensure predictable future cash flows. In the residential sector, this is reflected in stable demand for rental housing and in the expansion of long-term operational models. In logistics, demand for distribution space remains the primary driver, encouraging deal execution before project completion. For developers, this increases the need to align project documentation, construction schedules, and contractual frameworks with investor requirements at early stages of the project. 

Investors are strengthening control over construction parameters — from budget to technical specifications. It is increasingly common to include detailed technical schedules and cost-adjustment mechanisms based on transparent cost indices. These elements allow key deal parameters to be fixed before the start of major works and distribute risks between parties through milestone payments, retention mechanisms, and step-in rights. 

At the same time, the market is seeing an expansion of joint structures — from classical joint ventures to hybrid equity + mezzanine models. These structures are used to optimize the cost of capital and provide flexibility in exit strategies. By bringing in a partner early, developers increase access to financing but also commit to predefined performance indicators and construction-quality standards. 

As a result, a more formalized early-stage capital market is emerging, where the key elements are transparency of pre-development preparation, the structure of risk allocation, and standardized contractual packages that support project stability amid shifting financial conditions. 

Commentary from M24 Investment Division: 

The growing share of forward deals in development confirms a broader shift of capital toward earlier project stages, where risks can be formalized and project parameters fixed before construction begins. Institutional investors increasingly require alignment with technical specifications and delivery schedules, while developers adapt by forming hybrid equity + mezzanine structures and detailed milestone-based payment mechanisms. This steers the market toward a standardized early-stage partnership model, where project resilience is determined not by asset completion but by legal and technical structuring at the outset.