Turner & Townsend, Colby River, Investec, Brixton Capital, Real Estate UK, CVC DIF, I Squared Capital, CBRE, Prometheus Hyperscale
Prometheus Hyperscale — Bernard Looney has been appointed as chairman and CEO to lead the company as it scales compute capacity for artificial intelligence. Looney, who has served as the firm’s non-executive chairman since 2024, succeeds founder Trenton Thornock, who will transition to a role as advisor and board member. Looney joins from BP, where he served as CEO from 2020 to 2023 following a 30-year career at the energy major. In his new role, he will oversee the execution of a $30bn capital expenditure programme, including the development of two hyperscale data centre campuses in Evanston and Casper, Wyoming.
Blackstone — Taro Squires has been appointed as head of real estate for Australia, where he will oversee the firm’s regional investment strategy and a A$50bn portfolio. Squires joins from Blackstone’s Japan real estate group, where he served as a senior member, and previously held the role of founding member at HJ Asset Management in Japan. He replaces Chris Tynan, who is stepping away after more than a decade to serve as a senior executive adviser to the firm. In his new role, Squires will support Blackstone’s target of scaling its Australian platform.
Real Estate UK — Vanessa Hale has been appointed as the founding chief executive of the new industry body, where she will lead the collective voice of the UK real estate sector following the merger of AREF, BPF, and IPF. Hale joins from BNP Paribas Real Estate, where she served as head of research and strategy and was a member of the UK executive leadership team. With more than 20 years of global experience in the built environment, she previously held the role of chair at ULI UK and worked at Strutt & Parker focusing on market analysis and corporate workspace strategies. In her new role, she will support Real Estate UK’s target of representing institutional investors, developers, and asset managers across six key pillars, including advocacy and research, as the legal merger completes on 30 April 2026.
CVC DIF — Enrico Del Prete has been appointed as partner and co-head of the value-add strategy, where he will lead the mid-market infrastructure platform alongside Willem Jansonius. Del Prete joins from I Squared Capital, where he served as a fund partner leading investments across digital infrastructure, transport, and renewable energy, and previously held roles at Terra Firma Capital Partners. With extensive experience in scaling investment platforms, he also spent several years at McKinsey & Co, where he established a track record in operational and strategic advisory. In his new role, he will support CVC DIF’s target of expanding its value-add platform.
CBRE — Neil Bear-Hetherington has been appointed as director of data centres for capital markets in Asia Pacific, where he will advise developers, operators and institutional investors on investment transactions, capital formation and land strategies. Bear-Hetherington joins from CBRE’s European data centres team, where he served as a senior advisor to hyperscalers and financial institutions, and previously held roles executing transactions across markets including the UK, Germany and Japan. In his new role, he will support CBRE’s target of scaling its APAC digital infrastructure platform.
Turner & Townsend — Patricia Moore has been appointed as managing director for EMEA, where she will oversee the firm’s positioning as a programme partner across real estate, infrastructure and energy and natural resources. Moore, who also retains her role as UK managing director, joins the regional leadership as the business begins its strategic plan to 2030. Within the same group, Andy Scott has seen his remit expanded to lead both infrastructure and defence as managing director for the two divisions. Scott joins the unified leadership team from his previous position as managing director for defence, and previously held the role of senior project manager since joining the firm in 2011. With over 15 years of experience, he also spent several years managing teams across landmark schemes, including Heathrow, Hinkley Point C, and Edinburgh Trams. Additionally, James Corrigan has been appointed as managing director for the US and is moving from the UK to lead the American business. Corrigan joins the US team from the UK infrastructure division, where he served as managing director, and previously held the role of head of the programme advisory team. Having joined the company as a summer placement in 2005, he established a track record advising on major programmes such as HS2 and Crossrail.
Brixton Capital — Matthew Bateman has been appointed to the internal board of advisors, where he will evaluate company performance and advise the leadership committee on growth strategies for retail and multifamily platforms. Bateman joins from Westcore, where he served as chief operating officer, and previously held the role of director for multifamily operations at ColRich. With over 20 years of experience, he also spent several years as a broker at Grubb & Ellis, where he established a track record in commercial real estate investment and operations. In his new role, he will support Brixton Capital’s target of deploying approximately $1.25bn of buying power and scaling its investment platform following the launch of two high-net-worth funds.
Investec — Hollie Sleigh has been appointed as head of offshore real estate lending, where she will lead a team providing tailored property financing solutions to high-net-worth clients, family offices and privately owned corporates. Sleigh joins the offshore leadership team from Investec’s corporate real estate division in London, and previously held a role at Investec Bank (Channel Islands) for five years. With over 12 years of experience in the Channel Islands and UK markets, she also spent three years within the firm’s onshore real estate team, where she established a track record in navigating complex cross-border structures. In her new role, she will work alongside Emily Dawson, head of private banking, and Andy Smith, head of financial intermediaries, to support Investec’s target of strengthening its real estate proposition across the Crown Dependencies and the UK.
Valor Real Estate Partners — Timour Wielemans, Will Outram, Miles Muthu, and Lianghui Lin have been promoted to senior vice president as the firm expands its platform across European gateway cities. Wielemans has been a key member of the UK investments team since 2019, while Outram serves as head of ESG UK, Muthu specialises in real estate finance, and Lin focuses on financial reporting and operations. The firm has also promoted Andrew Nally and Adrien Gornard to vice president within the UK investments and France asset management teams, respectively, alongside the appointments of Marcus Guillemant as senior associate and Hugo Comensoli and Martin Garsic as associates. In their new roles, the appointees will support Valor Real Estate Partners’ target of managing its approximately €5bn portfolio of 250 last-mile assets as global demand for urban logistics capacity accelerates.
Colby River — Jackie Robinson has been appointed as managing director of property management, where she will lead the property management arm and oversee the alignment between investment strategy and on-the-ground performance. Robinson joins the senior leadership team at the living sector platform, which recently launched following a spin-out of Dandara Living Management from the Dandara Group. Within the same group, she will work in partnership with Delphine Deasy, who serves as managing director of capital management. Robinson joins from the previous Dandara Living Management structure, and previously held senior roles across the firm’s end-to-end investment and leasing model. In her new role, she will support Colby River’s target of growing its portfolio beyond its current mandate of 5,000 residential units across the UK.
Allsop — The UK property consultant has announced 32 firm-wide promotions across its London and Leeds offices, including the appointment of ten new salaried partners. The new partners are Liam Stray and Henry Kilmister in national investments, David Evans and Gabriella Brunton in residential auctions, Alexandra Ward in recoveries and receivership, Emily Norman, Dan Hopkins, and Oliver Murley in residential valuations and Vicky Bingham and Hugh Bushell in residential and transactional living markets. Additionally, Anthony Hart has been appointed as head of the Leeds office. Hart, who is also head of the student team, joins the Leeds leadership role from within the firm, where he originally started as a graduate. The promotions include seven new senior associates, nine associates, five senior surveyors and one senior business analyst.
