Hiring demand for senior executives is currently at a low ebb as companies batten down the hatches in expectation of a new recession.
Hiring demand for senior executives is currently at a low ebb as companies batten down the hatches in expectation of a new recession.
But the old adage ‘one man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity’, applicable to the real estate industry as a whole, indirectly also affects the recruitment market.
Equity players with the cash to swoop on deals are among the few that are likely to deepen their capabilities, according to recruitment specialists. This category of investor ranges from major insurers such as Allianz, big investment managers of the likes of AXA and La Salle and sovereign wealth funds like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) or Singapore’s GIC.
‘These players have the cash to deploy and the market is coming their way because people are having difficulty obtaining debt. And although they have been cautious in the last couple of years, the greater the opportunity becomes the more likely they are to be strengthening their capacity,’ comments one executive search consultant with a global headhunting firm in London who preferred to remain anonymous.
ADIA has so far been building capacity in Abu Dhabi, for example, but is rumoured to be looking at establishing a team in London.
US private equity firms muscling into the European real estate market in search of distressed investment opportunities are also among those seeking to boost their resources, the consultant notes. ‘They are gearing up to take advantage of the distressed investment opportunities in Europe faster than their European counterparts, many of whom are paralysed by fear.’
The full article appears in the December edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe
