Across industrial property, the relationship between owner and occupier is becoming increasingly important to how assets are managed, positioned and ultimately valued.
It is a shift Elizabeth Bors, Head of Asset Management at Aliro, has seen from several sides of the property industry. Over more than two decades, Elizabeth has worked across asset management, investment and leasing in the commercial, retail, healthcare and industrial sectors, giving her a broad perspective on what drives performance across different asset classes.
That experience has also reinforced the importance of treating occupiers as customers. At Aliro, Elizabeth is applying that thinking across the portfolio, using customer insights, active asset management and a close understanding of individual assets to identify opportunities to improve performance and unlock value.
Ahead of her appearance at the Industrial Real Estate Summit, we spoke with Elizabeth about how Aliro is approaching asset management, the changing expectations of industrial occupiers and where she sees opportunities to create greater value from existing assets.
How important is it for asset managers to really understand how occupiers use their property and what they need to operate effectively?
It is critical. As asset managers, we can spend a lot of time looking at assets through the lens of leases, valuations and financial performance, but ultimately our customers are operating businesses from these properties every day.
Understanding how an occupier uses the space, where their business is heading and what may constrain their growth gives us the opportunity to be proactive rather than reactive. Often the most valuable conversations happen well before a lease event.
At Aliro, we are increasingly focused on building those relationships earlier and using customer insight to inform our asset strategies. It can help us retain and grow customers, identify expansion opportunities and, importantly, make better decisions about where we invest capital.
How can better understanding of occupier needs help asset managers make better decisions and create more value for both occupiers and investors?
The real value comes when customer insight translates into action.
If we understand where an occupier is growing, consolidating or changing the way they operate, we can look across an asset or portfolio for solutions rather than simply responding to a lease expiry. That might mean facilitating an expansion, relocating a customer within an estate, reconfiguring space or bringing forward capital investment.
Done well, those decisions can deliver a better operational outcome for the occupier while also improving retention, reducing downtime and unlocking value for investors. That alignment between customer outcomes and investment performance is where I think active asset management can make a significant difference.
What information should asset managers be communicating to investors to help them better understand how their assets are performing and where future value can be created?
Investors need more than a snapshot of occupancy, WALE and rental performance. Those metrics remain important, but good asset management reporting should also explain what is driving performance and, importantly, where the next opportunity for value creation sits.
That means providing visibility on customer engagement, leasing risk and opportunity, rental reversion, capital requirements and the initiatives underway to improve the asset’s future performance.
At Aliro, we want asset management to be forward-looking. The role isn’t simply to report what happened during the quarter; it is to give investors a clear view of the strategy for each asset, the opportunities and risks we see, and the actions we are taking to drive future returns.
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At the Industrial Real Estate Summit 2026, Elizabeth will join the IRE summit on the Leasing Panel: Securing Occupiers in a Performance-Driven Portfolio, exploring how landlords and occupiers can work together to improve operational performance, strengthen retention and create long-term asset value.
Download the Agenda to view details on Elizabeth’s session and the two-day program.
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