SWEDEN - GE Real Estate Nordic has opened a new office in Stockholm in a bid for "strong expansion" in the Swedish capital, the company has announced.

"Given the increasing number of shopping centres in the real estate portfolio, including the most recent acquisition of four properties in Vallentuna centre, GE Real Estate has decided to manage the shopping centres through a separate asset management team, to be headed by Karin Linander," the firm said.

The new asset management team of twenty has been divided to cover the North of the city, headed by Susanne Essehorn, and the South, headed by Roland Eriksson.

Simultaneously, the firm has named Göran Bengtsson as its new head of business development and deputy managing director.

Replacing Thomas Lindström, who left the firm at the end of May, Bengtsson, the former head of asset management, has taken up his new position as of August 1; Bengtsson's old role is vacant, "with internal and external candidates currently being considered for the role".

Lindström is now managing director at the Stockholm branch of global private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

Also Magnus Sundell, former head of risk as well as business development at the firm, has been appointed to a new position from August 1.

He is now the company's new managing director for GE Fleets Services in the Nordic region, "as a result Göran Bengtsson has assumed responsibility for the company's real estate operations in the Finnish market," according to the firm.

Seeing the appointments as "evidence of the individual employees' excellent leadership skills and a clear indication of [the] organisation's ability to develop our people's skills and careers," managing director Lennart Sten commented that the developing of managers into "good leaders" is part of the group's corporate culture.