Patrizia Immobilien is to open a Dutch office, as the country’s real estate sector begins to show signs of recovery.

The German investor has recruited Peter Helfrich as managing director of the new office as it looks to boost investment across the office, retail and residential sectors. Patrizia currently has around €200m of real estate in the Netherlands.

Helfrich will be based in Amsterdam and joins the firm from CBRE Global Investors.

He told IP Real Estate said: “The timing is right when you consider where both the residential and commercial sectors are in their respective cycles.

“All sectors have suffered in recent years and, with appetite increasing and sentiment improving, this makes sense.”

Helfrich said Patrizia will be opportunity driven and look for “favourable long-term returns”.

“The first portfolio that trades will most likely go for the most interesting price – opportunities will be there,” Helfrich added.

Patrizia, which currently advises a number of Dutch institutional clients, said it will look to recruit more staff for the new office in the coming months.