Real estate investment manager Garbe Institutional Capital, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is expanding into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Ben Maudling has been appointed as managing director of the new office, based in Prague. Managing and developing retail, office and residential real estate assets, the company will initially focus on the Polish and Czech markets.
Maudling said: 'Between 2014 and 2019 real estate investments in CEE almost doubled. We expect this rapid growth to continue in the coming years with the residential sector being particularly interesting.
'We will start operations in Poland and the Czech Republic as these are the largest and most liquid markets in CEE and offer attractive risk-return profiles for investors from the DACH region.’
Maudling has lived and worked in CEE since 1992 and formerly held senior positions across the region for Invesco, Palmer Capital and Savills.
Michiel Dubois, managing director at Garbe Institutional Capital, said: ‘We are delighted that Ben has joined us. He is one of the most experienced professionals in the CEE region with an excellent personal track record.
'I am convinced that his knowledge and expertise will enable us to establish a strong and highly reputable presence in this area.’
The Prague office marks Garbe's second branch outside its domestic market, complementing the Dutch business based in in Amsterdam.
Christopher Garbe, CEO of the family-owned Garbe Group, added: ‘Our logistics and light industrial division has already made a successful market entry into Central and Eastern Europe.
'Now, through Garbe Institutional Capital, we are also providing our investors with access to attractive investment opportunities in residential and commercial real estate in this region.
'We are thus meeting the increasing demand for diversified investments in stable European growth regions. The development and investment management activities support each other well and both benefit from the synergies of our overall platform.’
