Octopus Real Estate has appointed Cristina Pérez Liz to be its new head of Spain.
The firm said in a statement that the appointment follows the launch of Octopus Investments Spain, which was first announced in September. It said that Pérez Liz will be based in the firm’s new Madrid office and report to Ed Clough, managing director at Octopus Real Estate. Clough, it said, has also relocated to Madrid to support the team’s early growth.
Pérez Liz said: “I’m very excited to be joining the Octopus team and can’t wait to get started leading our expansion in Spain. The team’s long track record and knowledge of the living and healthcare sectors, including in senior living, provides a great platform to start from – those sectors in Spain are emerging as prime targets for international capital, and we know we can deliver the same excellent outcomes as we have done in the UK, by strategically selecting the right opportunities, with the right partners. Ed and the wider team have made important first steps over the past few months which I look forward to developing.”
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According to her LinkedIn profile, Pérez Liz joins Octopus from Kennedy Wilson where she spent over 10 years as its senior managing director and head of Spain. Prior to working at Kennedy Wilson, Pérez Liz spent five years at Santander and one year at PwC. She also spent two years working for Goldman Sachs in London. She said in a LinkedIn post that she was ‘thrilled’ to begin her new role and could not wait to get started on leading the company’s expansion into Spain.
Octopus has been looking to expand into Europe for some time. In September, it announced its first moves, using what is probably the unfortunate phrasing of ‘extended its tentacles’ to say that it had opened its office in Spain.
Clough said: “Building a strong local team is the most important part of our launch into Spain, so we’re delighted to welcome a leader of Cristina’s calibre to head those efforts. She brings a huge amount of real estate and capital markets experience across Spain and the rest of Europe, covering both equity and debt, which aligns with everything we do across Octopus Real Estate. She’ll play a pivotal role in building long-term relationships with new partners in Spain and in delivering results for our strategies.”
Octopus Real Estate is principally focused on the living and healthcare sectors and aims to expand all its existing strategies into Spain, and across Europe, over the coming years, including retirement living, elderly care homes, affordable housing and real estate debt.
Its first announced strategy which will include deployment in Spain is the Octopus Retirement Rental Strategy, a European value-add retirement living strategy, focusing on the development of later living schemes exclusively for rent for those aged 75+. As part of the strategy, Octopus will form a joint venture (JV) with Neinor, the leading residential property developer in Spain.
