Henderson Park makes first hires since launch – Exclusive

Following September’s launch, with $500m of capital commitments, and November’s debut acquisition, of Paris’s largest hotel for €365m, Henderson Park has just made its first two hires. 

Henderson Park, the London-based real estate investment manager, has appointed Michael Jenkinson (pictured) and Adel Oucherif as principals of its investment team as the firm seeks to deliver its publicly-stated ambition of becoming a “leading force in European real estate”.

Reporting in to Nick Weber, the principals will be responsible for sourcing and originating new deals across Europe, targeting value-add and opportunistic transactions in major real estate markets and looking to build on Henderson Park’s debut acquisition, of Le Méridien Étoile hotel (pictured) in Paris.

Both new recruits will be based at Henderson Park’s head office in London Victoria, and their appointments bring the firm’s headcount up to 12.

Jenkinson joins from Goldman Sachs, where he worked for nine years, most recently as an executive director in the bank’s European special situations group, largely focused on real estate-related debt and equity investing across Europe.

Oucherif joins the firm with eight years of experience investing in European real estate. Prior to joining Henderson Park, he worked on Mount Kellett’s European real estate team, where he worked closely with Weber, then head of Europe. Oucherif also previously spent three years on Blackstone’s European acquisitions team, focusing on real estate and distressed debt transactions.

“The caliber of these two appointments underlines the depth of our ambition to cement Henderson Park as a market leading European real estate investment platform, supported by a team of experienced professionals demonstrating a strong track record in the value-add and opportunistic sectors that we are targeting,” Weber said.

“Both Michael and Adel join Henderson Park at an exciting time, shortly after our launch, with significant funds available for deployment and with a strong pipeline of investment opportunities already identified,” Weber added.

In September, Weber launched Henderson Park after receiving $500 million of backing from Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm Stone Point Capital, sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority, and New York and Kuwait-based investment manager, Wafra Investment Advisory Group.

Two months later, the firm bought Le Méridien Etoile hotel from a joint venture between Weber’s old firm, Mount Kellett, and Cedar Capital.

Prior to founding Henderson Park, Weber also spent 14 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and co-head of its European special situations group.