Eurofund Group, the international investment and real estate development company, has launched a UK arm with the appointment of a 3-strong team on the ground in London.
Eurofund UK will be headed up by Alberto Esguevillas, former development director and country manager at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, who has taken the role of CEO UK.
He is joined by Mike Rhydderch, bringing more than 25 years’ experience across M&S and capital markets, most recently as a managing director of EastDil Secured, into his role as senior advisor – corporate finance, and Emma Hindes, an industry professional with 20 years’ experience working for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, who will take the role of chief operating officer.
The group is overseen by Ian Sandford, president, who was one of the founding directors of the business, and Ion Saralegui Group, chief operating officer and CEO for Eurofund Investments.
First established in 2004, Eurofund’s managed assets have in excess of 1,000 tenants, including key international retailers present in the UK and mainland Europe such as Inditex, Primark, H&M Group, IKEA, UCI/Odeon Cinemas and ASM. With the launch of Eurofund Retail UK, the company is now active in three markets, also operating as Eurofund Retail Iberia and Eurofund Retail Italy.
Alongside its core business, Eurofund also owns and operates ‘anti-mall’ concept The Hood – a community-focused neighbourhood concept gathering retail, food, leisure, culture and art, with a first site having opened in Ubbo, Lisbon in 2020 and more sites to follow – and co-living concept Tribu, with a first site under development in Kingston, London.
Said Esguevillas: ;Eurofund is a true market leader with powerful credentials across both new developments, repositioning of existing assets and ongoing management, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to be a part of its expansion into the UK.
'In my view, the UK is the most dynamic market for retail opportunities at this moment in time and I look forward to working on some very exciting opportunities over the next few months.'
Said Sandford: 'The launch of Eurofund Retail UK is the next logical step for the business, which already has a strong track record across Spain, Portugal and Italy.
'I am confident that with this experienced and established team leading the expansion, we will see solid growth across the entire region as we explore interesting new joint venture partnerships and co-investing opportunities in exciting retail schemes.'
