LaSalle Investment Manager has created a European Transactions & Asset Management Team, based in Paris.
The team is targeted at institutional investors seeking what the company calls a ‘more-integrated approach to the acquisition, management, and divestments of assets’.
It is set to be led by Beverley Kilbride, who will be head of transactions and asset management. She has been with the company since 2006.
In a statement, Kilbride said, “This reorganisation of our European business illustrates the versatility and flexibility we can bring to bear to ensure that we continue to deliver best-in-class services for our clients. I’m excited to be leading this new team across Paris, London, and Munich, working with our client-facing teams and local market experts to ensure that we remain at the forefront of real estate investment in Europe.”
LaSalle Investment Manager calls itself ‘one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers’ and says that it manager $71bn worth of real estate assets. In recent weeks, it has bought a hotel in Barcelona for $125m and a 10-acre shopping mall in San Jose, California, for $54.5m. The firm also recently bought an airport distribution centre in Louisville, Kentucky, for $32.1m.
Property boom?
Property investment by large funds across Europe has been a big topic on these pages in recent weeks. Expert Investor took a critical look not long ago at the growing trend of investing in student properties across Europe. That report quoted from a study conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle, a related entity.
That study, entitled UK Living Capital Markets, found that private equity firms were reportedly ‘ramping up their investments in the UK’s student accommodation market’.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the proportion of private equity going into student accommodation has risen from an average of 17% of new deals in 2016 and 2017 to 34%.
Expert Investor has also written recently about the ethics of investing in property in areas where there is a housing crisis, particularly in the city of Berlin.
