Investcorp hires ex-Macquarie exec to spearhead European drive

Investcorp, the Bahrain-based alternative investment product manager, has announced the appointment of Neil Hasson to spearhead its entry into the European real estate arena.

Hasson joins as a managing director as the firm begins to target the European property sector in line with its strategy to diversify its range of investment products.

He will be responsible for developing Investcorp’s European real estate investment business with an initial focus on core-plus opportunities in residential and commercial properties across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. He will be based in London and will report to Investcorp’s head of real estate investment, Jonathan Dracos, based in New York.

Investcorp has a long-established US real estate business and has grown into one of the biggest foreign buyers of US real estate. The firm has closed transactions with a value totalling around $1.5 bn (€1.36 bn) in the past year, including student housing in Florida, apartments in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis, and commercial property in the Northwest, Southwest and West Coast.

Commenting on the appointment, Mohammed Al-Ardhi, executive chairman at Investcorp said: 'Diversification into the European real estate market is a key element of Investcorp’s strategy. Investcorp has long-served its client base with global and diversified investment products - entering European real estate is the next logical strategic step for the firm.'

Hasson commented: 'There are currently some very attractive opportunities for property investment, particularly in Western Europe, and I am looking forward to spearheading this new initiative at Investcorp.'

Hasson has nearly three decades of experience in real estate investment. He was previously a senior managing director at Macquarie Group, responsible for the firm’s European real estate lending business. Prior to this, he spent seven years at Citi Property Investors, where he was head of Europe and chief investment officer of CPI Capital Partners Europe, a €1.15 bn pan-European real estate fund.

Hasson started his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., followed by four years at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette where he was a managing director.