DLJ Real Estate director joins Wainbridge

Graham Langlay-Smith, a former European director at DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners which spun out last year, has joined new company Wainbridge Limited as chief financial officer.

Langlay-Smith is a property professional with 18 years experience, but most recently was at Credit Suisse’s private equity real estate business where he held a range of positions, including being responsible for European acquisitions and asset management and acting as regional chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Prior to joining DLJ, he was member of the investment committee at TrizecHahn Europe, a pan-European real estate developer.

Wainbridge is a property investment, development and asset management firm that raised a debut fund last year. It corralled £100 million (€115 million; $165 million) for a value-added fund targeting Greater London last November called Wainbridge Global Opportunities London Limited (WGOL). At the same time as raising the fund backed by wealthy Russian investors, it also announced the vehicle’s first investment, with the simultaneous recapitalisation and refinancing of a trophy office building, No.1 Croydon in south London for £31 million.

The company is run by Edouard Fernandez and Robert Rackind, both of whom once worked for US firm, Hines.

Of the firm’s new hire, Fernandez said Langlay-Smith would help it deliver the “next steps” in its growth.

Langlay-Smith called Wainbridge “a young firm with an exciting strategy” market strategy. “This role offers me a great opportunity to be a part of the growth story of the business,” he said.