Patrizia expands US presence

Patrizia, the Augsburg, Germany-based real estate investment manager, has expanded its US presence, naming Robert Bilse as head of North America fundraising, a newly created role.

Bilse will be in charge of diversifying Patrizia’s investor base in North America, raising capital for the firm’s fund offerings and other investment vehicles, such as separate accounts. The investment manager, which has had a subsidiary in the US for 10 years, is expected to increase its North America fundraising team over time.

“The United States is still the biggest capital market and strategically important for our future growth,” said Wolfgang Egger, Patrizia’s chief executive. “We are seeing a lot of opportunities to work with North America investors and we expect the appointment of Rob will help us expand our investor base, leveraging his deep experience and strong network of contacts.”

Bilse has 18 years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to joining Patrizia, he worked in various positions, including new product development and fundraising for Brookfield Asset Management and PGIM Real Estate. He began his career at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Patrizia has more than 800 employees spanning 20 offices in 15 European countries and manages approximately €18 billion of real estate assets across the region. Its investor base currently includes 200 institutions, such as savings banks, pension funds, sovereign funds and insurance companies.

In recent months, the firm has been particularly active investing in its home country, including the acquisition of a 49-property residential portfolio in western Germany and a 74-unit residential development project in Leipzig, both in October. Notably, it also bought the tallest building in Germany, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, in September on behalf of its South Korean client, Samsung Group. In other recent deals for Korean investors, the firm purchased the Astro Tower in Brussels in March for an undisclosed amount.