Investment manager Europa Capital has appointed Andy Watson as a partner of its business to head a long-term income investment initiative in pan-European real estate from a new office in Paris.
Watson, formerly chief investment officer for continental Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, has been a consultant to Europa since January 2018.
The new long-term income 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 mln.
The programme is intended for institutional investors from Europe, Asia and the Americas and commenced in 2017 with the acquisition of a multi-let office in Germany. Further acquisitions are currently in due diligence with the initial focus on France, Germany and the Netherlands.
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.'
Two compelling themes
Nic Fox, partner, 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.'
Watson said he was 'excited' to join Europa Capital and to 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.
Watson previously worked at Weatherall, Green and Smith London, Frankfurt and Berlin from 1989 to 1995. He will be based in Paris and will lead a dedicated team of personnel, which has already been assembled.
Since 1995, Europa Capital has collectively raised nine real estate funds and committed to over 128 transactions totalling more than €10.9 bn across 19 European countries. Europa Capital is a member of Rockefeller Group International, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Co.
