NETHERLANDS – Protego Real Estate Investors has hired Peter de Haas, senior portfolio strategist for real estate at Dutch healthcare fund PGGM, to head its new Dutch office.
He is to join the firm founded by Iain Reid, the former head of Aberdeen Property Investors, as international investment director. He will head the Rotterdam office, which will open in March.
The office will be a branch of the UK business and will follow the same business plan.
PGGM said de Haas would be replaced, although it was still searching.
Protego said de Haas will work on creating property derivatives in a select number of countries, as well as creating funds in Europe and other major international markets.
De Haas is a fellow of the Amsterdam School of Real Estate and member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Protego was launched in 2004 and has more than €1bn in assets under management.
“Our expansion into Europe is a planned, natural progression for Protego and has been driven by a desire to offer both institutional and private investors exposure to a broader range of markets,” said Reid.
“The establishment of an office in the Netherlands will provide us with the initial footprint on the continent through which we can begin to grow our European business. Peter de Haas is an exceptionally experienced individual, whose unparalleled knowledge of European and global real estate markets and connections with industry leaders is an integral part of our plans.”
