EXCLUSIVE: Eastdil plucks Rhydderch from Brookfield

Eastdil Secured has hired Michael Rhydderch from rival Brookfield Financial to join its rapidly-growing European business, reports PERE’s sister publication Real Estate Capital.

Rhydderch is a well-respected figure in pan-European real estate investing, with extensive experience of both the equity and debt markets. He left his last role, at Brookfield Financial, several weeks ago, and it is thought he will join Eastdil after the summer.

Eastdil has been making rapid inroads into Europe’s property markets in the last 3 years to 4 years. The US-headquartered firm initially targeted the European debt markets, primarily advising US buyers like Blackstone on sourcing finance.

It has quickly expanded its client base and in the last 12 months to 24 months has advised a wide range of borrowers on both refinancings and acquisition finance while also moving into investment sales, challenging the established leading brokers, the likes of CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield, for mandates
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Multi-lingual Rhydderch is a key senior hire for the firm. Before joining Brookfield Financial in September 2013, Rhydderch was at Cushman where he was head of EMEA capital markets, working across markets on large joint ventures, capital restructurings, corporate finance deals and property and portfolio sales.

In 2012 he joined the investment committee for Starwood Capital Group’s Starwood European Real Estate Finance debt fund which listed early the following year and is now fully invested.

Eastdil’s European business is led by senior managing directors Jim McCaffrey and Mike Cochran, and by Riaz Azadi who heads debt advisory. Last year Azadi’s team advised on $22.5 billion of debt placement, loan sales and loan-on-loan financings out of an Eastdil global total of $60 billion.

Rhydderch’s deals during his latter years at Cushman included Norges Bank Investment Management’s €600 million acquisition of a 50 percent stake in European logistics portfolio sold by ProLogis; CPPIB’s 50 percent in the €1.3 billion Dusseldorf shopping centre Centro Oberhausen in 2011; MGPA and Partners Group’s €220 million purchase of the Illum department store in Copenhagen in 2011 and; Orion Capital Partners’ 50 percent stake purchase of the Puerto Venecia retail development in Zaragoza for more than €100 million in 2011.