M&G Real Estate has appointed Martijn Vos as head of Continental European Living to spearhead its expansion into the sector. Based in Amsterdam, he reports to Alex Greaves, head of UK and Euro living.
In his new remit, Vos will drive M&G’s European residential strategy to create sustainable housing opportunities for M&G’s European property fund range.
This will include investment into Europe’s multifamily residential, co-living, student accommodation and senior living sectors, through the acquisition of standing stock and forward funding agreements with selected developers who share M&G’s vision to increase housing supply by building high quality, sustainable homes that support wellbeing.
Working closely with the teams under Alex Greaves and Marc Reijnen, head of European investment and asset management, Vos has been charged with combining M&G’s UK residential expertise with its European investment and asset management capability to source and manage assets.
Both teams have already collaborated on €358 mln of deals in France, Italy and the Nordics in the last eight months.
With more than 16 years’ experience of European private equity real estate markets, Vos has a demonstrable track record of creating and managing, operational real estate investment platforms, joint ventures and funds.
Vos joins from APG Asset Management, where he held various senior, strategic and board roles. Most recently as director of real estate Europe, he managed a €3 bn real estate portfolio having established investment platforms in the hotel, serviced apartment, residential, student housing and retail sectors.
Greaves said: 'Martijn’s appointment is a reflection of growing investor demand for alternative assets and the structural shift in demographics and lifestyles underpinning robust, long-term fundamentals for the living sectors.
'In times of heightened uncertainty, this shift towards the living sector has been recognised by institutional investors for its strong diversification characteristics.
'Despite growing urban populations, housing supply in many markets remains inadequate, both in terms of volume and quality. As people increasingly demand more from where they live, this in turn is fuelling demand for new, quality accommodation.'
