Agent CBRE has hired Petr Svoboda to head up its new debt & structured finance team for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Agent CBRE has hired Petr Svoboda to head up its new debt & structured finance team for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Svoboda will advise CBRE’s clients on all aspects of debt financing for real estate projects, including senior, junior, mezzanine or bridging finance.

He joins from Komerèní banka (SG group) where he worked for six years in the Real Estate Finance team in Prague. He was responsible for key commercial projects including the second biggest ever transaction in the Czech market; the sale of the VGP industrial portfolios to PointPark Properties.

Jeff Alson, head of Capital Markets Czech Republic, will assume overall responsibility for this newly created department for CEE.

The appointment is a result of changes in the property financing market in CEE, according to Alson.

He said: 'Over the last few years the European debt market has altered significantly, with the emergence of new lenders. We grew our Debt & Structured Finance team in the UK and Western Europe significantly in response to these changes. We are now beginning to experience similar changes in Central and Eastern Europe, therefore expanding our real estate financing offer to ensure we meet all our clients’ needs was the next logical step in our growth strategy.'