CBRE GI makes GIP’s Plummer head of Europe

The LA-based real estate investment management giant has appointed the head of its operating partner-focused business to its top job in Europe.

Jeremy Plummer, the man behind the rapid growth of CBRE Global Investment Partners (GIP), has been appointed as the head of Europe at its parent company CBRE Global Investors (GI), the firm announced today.

He takes over from Pieter Hendrikse, who had been in the role for 17 years, but will be leaving at the end of the month, CBRE GI said.

Plummer will remain as chief executive officer of GIP but will hand over day-to-day running to Ian Gleeson, the platform’s chief investment officer, as he assumes command of the European business, which has $31 billion of assets on its books. Gleeson will remain CIO but is now also senior managing director, reflecting his added duties.

We are excited about having Jeremy in this new role,” said Ritson Ferguson, chief executive officer of CBRE Global Investors. “We have a strong team throughout EMEA, and Jeremy is well-positioned to lead this team as we continue to drive investment performance for our clients. He has broad real estate experience, a deep knowledge of the Global Investors platform and a solid track record of leadership and investment performance.”

The ascension of Plummer is the latest indicator of how well he and GIP are regarded within the GI’s business.

He joined the firm in 2006 after GI acquired his Oxford Property Consultants multi-management business with approximately €300 million of assets, mainly in the UK and Western Europe. That purchase would be the starting point of CBRE GI’s plans to develop a fund of funds operation that grew to around $6 billion before doubling in size when GI completed the $1 billion acquisition of ING Real Estate Investment Management from Dutch bank ING in 2011.

As of the end of 2015, GIP commanded $13.6 billion of GI’s $89 billion of assets, approximately 15 percent, and was responsible for about 20 percent of its total $21.1 billion of transactions in the year.

GIP has also been at the forefront of GI’s fundraising activities, most recently raising its largest closed-ended fund, a value-add European vehicle that attracted $840 million.

Plummer's crossover to GI comes at a time when GIP’s investing strategy has become more direct in nature. The platform is making fewer indirect investments via funds and more outlays with operating businesses via joint ventures and investment clubs.

Reflecting that strategic shift, earlier this year GI decided to make its direct investment personnel in both Europe and Asia available to GIP and to permit GIP to be the sole manager of the firm’s value-added strategy funds.

“With more than $31.3 billion in assets under management and representing the largest source of client capital for the business globally, the EMEA region is a significant part of CBRE Global Investors’ global business,” Ferguson said. “With a strong platform across Europe and a range of highly-rated programs, we believe we are well-positioned to continue to grow these programs and deliver excellent outcomes for investors.”

Jeremy Plummer is the subject of PERE's Blueprint interview in the current issue of PERE magazine. To read the interview, click here.