2020-09-17 8:27 CET, Europe, Germany | Investment Management | Press release
Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) has appointed institutional investment sales specialist, Simon Günkel (43), as an Executive Director in the company’s Berlin office. Günkel joined CRIM on September 1, and will be responsible for institutional clients, including insurers and pension funds.
Prior to joining CRIM, Günkel worked at European investment firms, Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS), Universal-Investment and AXA IM Germany, and has more than 10 years of experience in the industry, bringing in-depth knowledge of the capital allocation strategies of institutional investors. Günkel’s expertise includes the structuring of real estate vehicles tailored to institutional investors’ tax and regulatory profiles. He has a degree in economics from the University of Bochum.
Michael Fink, Managing Director CRIM, said: “Catella is the largest cross-border residential real estate investment manager in Europe, with just over €4.0 billion in assets under management in a property sector that has expanded enormously for institutional investors in the pastyears. Residential has demonstrated its resilience and diversification benefits through strong outperformance relative to other sectors such as retail, offices and hotels, during the Covid-19 crisis, and we need the specialist skills of managers like Simon Günkelto meet the growing demand from institutional investors for the asset class. His long experience in managing institutional real estate mandates will play an important role in maintaining the pace of growth in Catella’s European residential investment platform.”
Despite the severe economic and market challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the investment fundamentals of the pan-European residential sector remain generally robust, due to the structural shortfall of affordable housing supply relative to demand in most major cities.
Simon Günkel, Executive Director CRIM, said: “Catella’s position as the leading pan-European residential investment manager was a key draw for me in my new role. I was also intrigued and attracted by Catella’s €2.0 billion joint venture investment programme with French engineering company Elithis to build 100 energy-positive residential towers across European markets over the next 10 years. It is very clear to me that only real estate managers who put sustainability first and foremost in their investment strategies will be able to attract institutional capital in the future.”
ENDS
About Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM)
Catella launched its first European residential fund in 2007 with a volume of more than €1 billion and it has since achieved an average net return for investors of 8.5% per year until the end of Q2 2020. The team also launched the first dedicated European Student Housing Fund in 2013.
CRIM is a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based Catella AB group and its residential real estate business comprises portfolio management, acquisitions, sales and asset management. CRIM manages and advises several funds and mandates and has assets under management of over €4 billion across 10 European countries.
For further information contact:
Lisette van der Ham
Head PR & Corporate Communications
Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH
Upper West, Kantstraße 164,
10623 Berlin
M: +31 (0)6 83200561
E: lisette.vanderham@catella-residential.com W: https://www.catella.com/immobilienfonds
