Clarion opens office in London

The New York-based real estate investment firm has established its first office outside the Americas since breaking out on its own last summer. New senior vp Jeroen Verheijden will head the office.


Clarion Partners has opened a client services office in London, re-establishing a presence in the UK for the first time since spinning out from ING Real Estate Investment Management in July 2011. 

The UK office has been established as a means to better accommodate Clarion’s offshore investors. A spokeswoman for the New York-based real estate investment manager confirmed that the new office will service the firm’s UK, European and Middle Eastern clients and to identify potential new client capital for investment in the Americas. 

Currently, Clarion has no immediate plans to invest in Europe, but it will continue to evaluate options as they arise. “The office in London is strictly a client capital management office. We’re not investing abroad,” the spokeswoman added, pointing out that 20 percent of the capital Clarion has raised has been from foreign investors. 

Heading the new UK office is Jeroen Verheijden, who was hired this summer as a senior vice president. He will be responsible for spearheading Clarion’s client business in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

“A lot of our current clients have increased their interest in investing in the Americas,” Verheijden told PERE. “It’s a much more compelling investment environment than Europe these days.” 

Prior to joining Clarion, Verheijden served as client portfolio manager at UK-based Aviva Investors, where he was responsible for the global development of its real estate multi-manager platform. Before that, he was part of the real estate fund management team at APG Asset Management, one of the largest pension plans in the Netherlands. He also spent several years as an investment consultant.