Investment manager Europa Capital has appointed Andy Watson as a Partner of its business to progress a long-term income investment initiative in pan-European real estate.
The initiative is currently seeded with capital from Europa Capital’s principal shareholder, Mitsubishi Estate, and along with capital from other institutional investors, has an investment target of €500 million. The investment programme commenced in 2017 with the acquisition of a multi-let office in Germany and further acquisitions are currently in due diligence. The programme is intended for institutional investors from Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Watson, former Chief Investment Officer for Continental Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, has been a consultant to Europa since January 2018 and brings with him considerable experience in providing diversified long-term income to institutional investors. Sourcing appropriate properties in the main property sectors will initially be focused on France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Watson will be based in Paris and will lead a dedicated team of personnel, which has already been assembled.
Rob Sim, Partner and member of Europa Capital’s Executive Committee, commented:
“This initiative is a complementary evolution of the pan-European value-add investment specialism for which Europa Capital has been best known for over 20 years and will further broaden our ability to invest on behalf of our clients in European real estate with a wide range of return profile.”
Nic Fox, Partner further added:
“Andy is a trilingual professional who has both lived and worked in France and Germany for almost 30 years. His broad experience across the region will greatly assist in managing this initiative, which will leverage the pan-European skills of Europa Capital.”
Yuichiro Shioda, Managing Director and CEO of Mitsubishi Estate London said:
“Mitsubishi is pleased that Andy is joining Europa Capital, bringing his experience and skills in core European real estate to the existing team. We look forward to working closely with him in building on our portfolio of secure income producing assets.”
Andy Watson commented:
“I am excited to join Europa Capital and be contributing to two compelling themes in the European property industry; the recent arrival of Japanese investors to deploy significant capital and the returning confidence in the city of Paris as a hub for doing business.”
For further information, please contact:
Gordon Simpson/Elizabeth King, Finsbury: + 44 20 7251 3801
Further information can be found at www.europacapital.com.
About Europa Capital:
Europa Capital is a real estate fund manager focused on European markets. For more than 20 years, Europa Capital has been delivering risk adjusted returns for a global audience of investors. We focus on investment returns driven by real estate fundamentals in both equity and debt strategies.
Since 1995, Europa Capital has collectively raised nine real estate funds and committed to over 128 transactions totalling more than €10.9 billion across 19 European countries.
The Europa Funds benefit from Europa Capital’s established network of partners across Europe who co-invest in acquisitions made by the Europa Funds. These country and joint venture partner relationships in some cases extend back more than 20 years.
Europa Capital is a member of Rockefeller Group International, Inc. (“RGI”), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd. RGI is a strategic investor alongside Management. Europa Capital Partners LLP and Europa Capital LLP are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Further information can be found at www.europacapital.com
About Andy Watson:
Andy Watson worked at Weatherall, Green and Smith London, Frankfurt and Berlin from 1989 to 1995. Since then, he has been based in Paris where he has gained extensive property experience across Europe – both as a founding partner of The Retail Consulting Group and in the course of his 12 years at LaSalle, where he was latterly responsible for the Continental European region as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer.
He is Author and Publisher of “A Thousand Days in Berlin – Tales of Property Pioneering” (2017).
