Grosvenor’s Asia boss to leave

Nicholas Loup, one of the best known individuals in Asian private real estate, is to leave his company after 25 years of service.

The chief executive of the Asia operation of London-based property firm Grosvenor, is to depart in March next year, the firm said in an announcement.

He is joining a UK property company with interests in Europe and aspirations to grow in Asia. The name of the company was not revealed.

His responsibilities will fall to Benjamin Cha, who joins from Swiss bank UBS, at the end of this month. Cha previously was head of global real estate for greater China. There will be a handover period of six months, half of which will see Cha located in London while the other half will be spent in Asia.

Having built up Grosvenor’s Asian operation after establishing its Hong Kong office in 1994 to an operation with 55 staff, Loup said the firm had “achieved its goal” of operating as a property company in that city and in Shanghai and Tokyo. He said: “Grosvenor is well placed to grow its activities through Grosvenor-branded residential developments and commercial developments for medium and long-term ownership.”

In addition to establishing Grosvenor’s Asia business he had responsibility for the firm’s direct investment holdings in the region. According to its annual report, the firm managed £11.8 billion (€14.8 billion; $19.4 billion) of assets of which £840 million resided in the Asia business.

Mark Preston, Grosvenor’s chief executive said: “I am enormously grateful to Nick Loup for his leadership and commitment over the past two decades, which have been critical to our success in Asia.”

“I am delighted that in Ben Cha we have appointed such an excellent successor and I look forward to working with him. We will remain fully committed to the Asia Pacific region. By leveraging on our past achievements and the strong partnerships we have forged throughout the region, we are in a solid position to continue to expand our Asian presence.”