2026 - Looking ahead with cautious optimism

Happy New Year!

As 2026 gets underway, the UK real estate sector is taking stock of a challenging period of disruption and change, while looking ahead with cautious optimism.

It is worth reflecting on how the last few years have shaped the current market landscape. Back in 2023, much of the commentary suggested that 2024 would be challenging, but that 2025 would mark a return to more positive conditions for the sector. In reality, 2025 proved to be another very difficult year with further global political disruption, uncertainty in the markets, cost of construction at record highs, constraints on capital formation, interest rates continuing to be an issue and investment volumes still struggling. These factors all combined to create a far tougher environment than many had anticipated.

For us at Madison Lincoln, 2025 was something of a rollercoaster year. We were fortunate to have worked on some of the most significant senior hires in the UK real estate market, yet we also saw a great number of mandates which, although verbally agreed, remain mothballed, with kick-off timing still TBC.  Decision-making remained cautious, and many businesses chose to pause or reassess before committing to the additional overhead cost of a senior hire.

That said, there were some clear signs of movement. 2025 saw a return of senior investment hiring, and we expect this to continue into 2026, alongside ongoing activity across asset management, credit, operations and leasing. Living and Industrial - including Data Centres - remained the strongest sectors, while Retail surprised many by coming back with a bang. In fact, we conducted our first retail searches in four years.

So, what does 2026 have in store?

It is too early to make firm predictions. However, one word has come up consistently in almost every conversation we’ve had; Restructuring.  2025 saw a number of redundancies, with some quietly taking place just before Christmas, reflecting the early stages of restructuring already underway across the market.

What will restructuring mean for hiring?

We expect to see a fair amount of internal movement within larger firms, further selective redundancies, and a greater focus on key strategic hires. Experienced hires are likely to be prioritised over ‘up and coming’ options, and we anticipate a possible shift towards fractional and interim hires - particularly given the number of start-up and growth-stage businesses that have arisen over the past 24 to 36 months.

As ever, we remain close to the market and committed to supporting our clients through whatever the year ahead brings.

Let’s all hope for a positive and prosperous 2026.

Best Regards
Tom

Tom McNally

Co-Founder & Managing Director, Madison Lincoln