The Miami-based private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital has appointed Simon Laker as principal and head of the European asset management operations for its real estate portfolio.
Previously, Laker managed the real estate investments in Europe for the London-based private real estate investment firm Evans Randall.
“The appointment of Simon reflects our commitment to a hands-on, value-added strategy, which has enabled the firm to achieve superior results on a consistent basis,” Ahmed Hamdani, managing director of the firm’s European team said in a statement announcing the appointment.
Laker will be based in the firm’s London office.
The appointment comes days after H.I.G Capital brought in a former Deutsche Bank executive to its European management team. Gabriele Magotti, who previously headed the southern Europe team for alternatives and real estate at Deutsche Bank, was appointed as the director for the H.I.G Capital’s real estate team in Milan.
On the investment side, the firm has been active in the opportunistic real estate space in Europe, investing in markets such as Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Central and Eastern Europe via its credit affiliate Bayside Capital.
To further expand its real estate portfolio, it opened its first office in Milan earlier this year, which now has around ten professionals working for private equity, debt, credit investments and real estate operations. It also has several other offices across Europe, including one in London, Madrid and Paris.
H.I.G. currently has more than €13 billion of equity capital under management, according to a company statement.