Ahead of the opening match of this year's Six Nations on Friday, January 31st, there will no doubt be an innumerable number of expert pundits attempting to predict each nation's prospective fortunes in this year's tournament. 

However, here is one with a difference, as I attempt to match each team's prospects with what I see as the closest UK Real Estate asset in Q1 of 2025. 

1. Scotland:  dogged, determined and dependable = Industrial & Logistics 

As a proud Englishman, it pains me to remind readers that Scotland have won the past three Calcutta Cups and four of the past six against the “auld enemy”. In addition, with their first two home fixtures at home at fortress Murrayfield, if they were to win those, could this finally be their year? Similarly, with steady occupier demand being back to pre-pandemic levels and increased investor confidence set to grow conservatively as the year progresses, industrial & logistics seems to be the asset Gregor Townsend's men most resemble (even if Sione Tuipulotu is sadly injured for the tournament's entirety).  

2.  Ireland: delivering consistent class = Hotels 

Ireland have been victors of the previous two Six Nations championships, and no team has ever (even in the Four/Five nations eras) won three in a row. Could this be the year? Quite possibly, although with coach Andy Farrell's absence thanks to his upcoming tour of duty with the British & Irish Lions in Australia this summer, it could not be quite as smooth sailing as Ireland have come to expect as the IRFU celebrate their 150th anniversary. Similarly, the hotel sector is set to continue to perform strongly, with the first half of 2025 expected to be busy on the investment side. It seems that, as with Ireland's Sam Prendergast set to be a future marque player, hotels will continue to be an attractive sector into 2025 and beyond. 

3. England: one step forward, two steps back? = Retail Parks

England and the embattled Steve Borthwick seem to be one game away from complete crisis mode of late (and that is before one accounts for the RFU's continued boardroom drama). However, if they were to manage an away win in Dublin and then at HQ in Le Crunch, then the atmosphere around the Allianz Stadium (to give Twickenham its new official name) would seem positively balmy. And so it seems with retail parks, with the newspaper headlines forever casting UK consumer confidence as ever decreasing, retail parks (and specifically shopping centres) are said to be the vanguard of the sector this year. However, with the UK Chancellor's looming tax changes set to hit the retail sector hard over the coming months, it only takes one weekend of chastening viewing of how the English Premiership teams are comprehensively dismantled in Europe this season to consider things could get a lot worse before they get better for both England and retail parks. 

4. Italy: finally coming to the fore or business as usual? = Build to Rent 

Italy gave England a real run for their money in the Eternal City in February last year; coupled with finishing the tournament with two wins and a draw, could Italy finally be fulfilling the long overdue promise the tournament's organisers have entrusted them with since the turn of the Millennium? While its challenges have not persisted for quite as long as those of the Azzurri, BTR yields are set to be broadly stable and demand for rental accommodation remains strong given the UK's constrained supply of affordable housing, which is as positive as a Louis Lynagh dash down the wing. However, with the increase of stamp duty on additional properties rising from 3% to 5% last October, much like Italy's 50 point defeat in November against Argentina, there appears to be choppy waters ahead for both BTR and Gonzalo Quesada over the coming months. 

5. Wales: probable wooden spoon recipients = UK High Street 

Sorry Wales. Sorry UK High Street. Much like any sporting tournament, someone has to come last. Kicking off proceedings against Les Blues at the always raucous Stade de France this coming Friday night, Wales run a real possibility of incurring a 13th consecutive defeat. Ouch. With fears of recession denting UK consumer confidence, along with an increase in employee NICs in the private sector and the Government cutting the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure business rates relief scheme from 75% to 40% in the Autumn budget, this will no doubt amplify the problems already experienced by the UK High Street. W.H. Smith's recent announcement that it is considering disposing of the entirety of its high street portfolio can only heap more pain on the sector, all of which equates to an eerie parallel of the financial uncertainty the game faces in Wales at a professional level. Wales' trip to Rome in Round 2, much like the Labour government hoping to engineer an uptick in the UK economy, seems of desperate importance to the UK High Street and Wales rugby alike, and it seems both Warren Gatland and the UK High Street sector will require some out of the box thinking to turn both ships around in the coming weeks and months. 

6. France: saving the best until last = Data Centres 

Antoine Dupont now has an Olympic Gold to sit alongside his Six Nations title with France, along with two European Rugby Champions Cups and four Top 14 victories with Toulouse. France's captain has to be the best in Europe and (while Springboks fans may beg to differ) is arguably the best in the world. With Toulouse and Bordeaux featuring a number of French internationals running rampant in this season's Champions Cup pool matches, France's dominance in this year's tournament seems a forgone conclusion. With the UK Government's launch of its Artificial Intelligence initiative earlier this month, seeking to harness the power of AI, Californian company Vantage Data Centres, New York-registered Kyndryl and London-based Nscale have all pledged to spend around £14 billion on data centres in the UK, with London remaining Europe's largest data centre market, and expected to grow by around 17% this year. Along with the ever stylish Fabien Galthié, 2025 appears to be the year of the data centre! 

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article with myself, or other members of our Built Environment team, please get in touch.