AEW Europe, the Paris-based real estate investment manager, has opened a new office in Madrid as it aims to expand its assets under management in Spain beyond the €500 million mark.
The firm said it had opened the office as a result of a string of recent deals in Spain. Over the last two years, AEW has completed four acquisitions in the country, representing a total value of €153 million, including two Madrid offices, comprising 250,000 square feet of space, which were bought for a total of €63 million.
The quartet of transactions has taken the firm’s current total assets in the country to €343 million, with the majority of these investments made on behalf of core and value-add funds, as well as a number of mandates.
As part of increasing its presence in the Spanish market, AEW has appointed Carsten Czarnetzki as country head of Spain where he will oversee the asset and investment management activities. Czarnetzki will retain his role as fund manager of the firm’s Europe Value Investors vehicle which also has investments in Madrid, and will report to Russell Jewell, head of private equity funds at AEW Europe.
“We have been actively investing in the Spanish market over the last two years and expect our platform in that market to grow significantly over the coming years,” Rob Wilkinson, CEO of AEW Europe said. “Local asset management is key to real estate investment and opening the office in Madrid ensures that we have the right resource on the ground,” he added.
The opening of its Madrid office is AEW Europe’s first major announcement since November, when the firm brought in former DTZ global research head Hans Vrensen to head up its own European research and strategy operation.
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