Park Hill beefs up

Park Hill Real Estate Group, the placement agent subsidiary of The Blackstone Group, has hired Jan-Christoph Klein as a principal in its London office, PERE can reveal.

Klein has been recruited following a year-long stint at Switzerland-based alternatives firm Partners Group, and has joined to work closely with colleagues from both Park Hill and the wider Blackstone organisation, according to the firm. He will focus on the full gamut of real estate capital raising for funds, joint ventures and recapitalisations, as well as secondaries sales and advisory assignments.

Charles Purse, senior managing director of Park Hill Real Estate in New York, said: “We are delighted to have someone with Jan-Christoph’s depth of experience and dedication on board. His previous work on the principal side as well as his strong relationships with thought-leading investors across Europe will enhance our overall platform. ”

Audrey Klein, managing principal in London, added: “With the number of high-profile transactions that we are currently completing and several more in the pipeline, JC joins us at an opportune time.”

Klein has worked in capital markets and real estate for just over ten years, most recently with Partners Group in Zug, Switzerland, where he spent a year as head of real estate investment solutions. Prior to that, he was with Credit Suisse in London, working in the bank’s Equity Capital Markets, Alternative Investments division as well as with the Real Estate Private Fund Group. He spent a total of nine years at Credit Suisse having joined in June 2001.

Park Hill is advising on numerous funds currently in the market in addition to Blackstone’s latest opportunity fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) VII, which past the $4 billion mark on its way to a target of around $10 billion. Other funds advised by Park Hill which have held recent closings include SC Management’s Real Estate Capital Asia Partners III fund, an opportunity fund seeking $400 million that held a first closing of $60 million and India-focused Red Fort Capital’s Red Fort India Real Estate Fund II, which has now attracted $184 million following a second closing.