Private equity investment manager Meyer Bergman is rebranding as ‘Mark’ as part of a pivot towards emerging asset classes, the company has announced.
From today (Thursday) the name Meyer Bergman is no longer in use and the company with €7.2 bn AUM, including €4.3 bn in residential and €1 bn in offices, is called by its new identity.
The move is intended to crystallise a fresh ‘multi-platform’ strategy for the firm, of focusing more closely on opportunities which the mega-trends of urbanisation and technological change create.
This will involve targeting new alternative opportunities in life sciences and digital real estate segments. Mark will continue to invest in residential assets, but with a new, country-level approach, the company said.
Covid-19 appears to be an influence in the timing of the name change. The company said the pandemic is creating the need for urban conversion projects in the retail and office classes among others, while driving demand for life science and digital assets.
Matthew Ammirati, chief marketing officer at Mark, said: ‘The new brand reflects our desire to leave a positive mark on the cities we are active in, whether that is through breathing new life into under-utilised buildings or investing into the infrastructure that makes them tick, such as last-mile logistics facilities.
‘Real estate as an industry lags behind others in understanding the power and value of clear and strong branding, and this will be a major consideration for MARK as we move forward with our new platforms that will sit alongside our traditional urban value-add strategy.’
Welcoming the rebrand, Markus Meijer, CEO of Mark, said: ‘Our old branding and identity did not reflect the evolution the business has made in becoming a multi-platform investment manager with an increasingly diversified portfolio spanning multiple asset classes.
‘As Mark, we will be looking to grow our exposure to European residential real estate through new country-specific platforms. Residential has proven its resilience during this pandemic and is a sector we have an established track record in through our Meyer Homes platform as well as individual investments.
‘We see this specialised platform approach as being the future of institutional investment into real estate, with investors wanting a clear and focused narrative around the opportunities that have been created by structural shifts in the way we live, work and shop.
‘We are also seeing growing investor interest in labs and data centres, and life sciences and digital real estate are two sectors we are targeting for future expansion, as well as logistics more broadly given the success of Crossbay.’
