BNP Paribas RE expands German high-street team

BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE) said it intends to significantly expand its team of consultants in the field of high-street investment in the coming months.

The company plans to deploy a team of between 15 and 20 investment consultants at the eight BNPPRE locations in Germany by the end of next year. Up to now, office and retail buildings in prime retail areas have been handled by the company's established investment teams, whose focus is primarily on office assets.

From now on, an independent high-street investment team will form part of BNPPRE's Retail Services activities. 'With this increased power, we will be able to extend our activities beyond our present locations of Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich to the retail precincts of such other cities as Wiesbaden, Nuremberg, Dresden, Dortmund and Hannover,' said Marcus Zorn, managing director of BNP Paribas Real Estate.

In Düsseldorf, the new team has already been in place since September. André Gerke and Daniel Hartmann support property owners and investors in the region's main retail locations. Real estate economist André Gerke worked for Jones Lang LaSalle Retail (formerly Kemper’s) as a consultant in the field of retail investment for four years before moving to Brockhoff & Partner Immobilien in Essen as an investment expert for prime-area office and retail buildings and shopping centres.

Daniel Hartmann, who has been a Senior Consultant in BNPPRE's Retail Letting team in Düsseldorf since 2010, has now moved to the new high street investment section.

Separately, BNPPRE has hired Nick Rock as head of the West End office leasing team from niche practice Brewster Leech.