New real estate giant takes to the stage

TIAA Henderson Real Estate, the combination of the European and Asian real estate businesses of US financial services group TIAA-CREF and UK-based fund manager Henderson Global Investors, was launched officially on 1 April.

With a combined track record of over 90 years in global real estate, TH Real Estate's focus will be pure real estate with no distractions from other markets, asset classes or business lines, the two partners said.

The new combine has offices across Asia and Europe and managed about $22.6 bn (€16.4 bn) of real estate assets across 50 funds and mandates at end-2013. TIAA-CREF owns a 60% interest in TH Real Estate. The remaining 40% is owned by Henderson.

Together, the TIAA-CREF real estate and TH Real Estate platforms represent one of the largest real estate investment management enterprises in the world. The alliance will have a combined total of $71 bn in real estate assets under management as of end-2013.

TIAA-CREF has also completed the acquisition of Henderson's North American property business. This business ($2.6 bn) is being managed as a distinct, yet complementary operation within the existing TIAA-CREF North American real estate platform.

TIAA-CREF will manage and service its existing $48.2 bn real estate platform which invests on behalf of the TIAA General Account, retirement participants, and institutional and individual investors worldwide, focusing on the core real estate space.

James Darkins, CEO of TH Real Estate, said: 'TH Real Estate represents a new powerhouse in global real estate with the scale and capital resource to better meet the real estate investing needs of existing and prospective clients. By combining a global perspective with our local expertise, we aim to significantly grow our range of product solutions, while embedding a stable, consistent, risk-aware and sustainable investment approach to our business that places our clients and fund teams right at the heart of the process.'