Schroder veteran Michael Clarke to leave company

Michael Clarke, the head of property products for Schroder Property has resigned after 18 years with the company.

The Schroder Property veteran handed in his resignation within the last few weeks and is currently on gardening leave.

William Hill, head of property, said: “We can confirm that Michael Clarke will be leaving Schroders at the end of June after 18 years with the company. He leaves with our best wishes for the future and thanks for the contribution that he has made at Schroders.”

Hill added that Clarke had decided that it was the right time to consider a change in his career and would be taking some time off while he considered a number of options.

“We will be hiring somebody to replace Mike in due course but in a slightly different role. In the meantime, Tom Dorey, who joined Schroders in 1997, has been promoted to head of UK property product.”  Dorey will be taking over the UK product range, which was a significant part of Clarke’s responsibilities, added Hill. 

During his tenure, Clarke was responsible for helping grow assets under management at Schroder Property from £160 million (€186 million; $237 million) to £7.5 billion. Notably, he set up the firm’s global fund of funds business, recruiting Jenny Buck in 2001 to run it. Buck is still in place as head of indirect investment management.

One of the latest funds Schroder has been raising is an opportunistic vehicle, Columbus UK Real Estate Fund, which held a first close in March on around £80 million.