LaSalle Investment Management has made two appointments as it looks to expand its UK residential real estate activity.
The company said it was planning to invest £400m (€524.5m) over the next two years in the Private Rented Sector (PRS).
The capital will come from existing clients, as well as other institutions, it said.
Andrew Stanford will join as residential fund manager from residential and mixed-use property consultancy Stanford Mallinson, which he founded.
Stanford, currently seconded to the UK’s Department for Communities and Local Government as head of the government’s PRS task force, will join in April.
Tom Henry will join as director of residential transactions next month from JLL, where he is currently head of PRS investment.
Alan Tripp, UK managing director at LaSalle Investment Management, said: “Socio-economic and demographic trends are increasing demand for high-quality, purpose-built private rented housing.
“Coupled with the attractive long-term real returns the private rented sector can offer, this creates a compelling case for investment.
“As a result, residential will become an increasingly significant part of institutional investors’ portfolios.”
On the debt side, LaSalle’s Residential Finance I fund has so far financed hotel, residential and student-housing schemes since it was launched in 2013.
Dutch pensions group APG backed the strategy with an initial £238m commitment before providing a second tranche last year.
