Union Investment appoints Brühl as CIO

Union Investment, the Hamburg-based real estate investor, has appointed Martin Brühl as chief investment officer as the firm restructures its investment activities.

From March 1, the department responsible for investment management at Union Investment will be split into two regional investment units, Europe and overseas, with additional dedicated units for retail and hospitality.

Prior to this appointment, Bruhl was head of international investment management for four years. Before joining the firm, he worked at Cushman & Wakefield, Arthur Andersen and DTZ Zadelhoff.

Union Investment has made two other personnel changes. Philip La Pierre, as head of overseas investment, will take on responsibility for international investment business in the office segment, which currently involves five markets across the Americas and Asia-Pacific. While European investment activity, La Pierre’s previous responsibility, will now be headed up by Martin Schellein.

“In 2016, our specialist investment teams handled global acquisitions and sales with a total value of €4.6 billion,” said Brühl. “But we are aware that the bar for investment management has been raised even further since last year.”

“Against this backdrop,” Brühl added. “We are delighted that all our senior management positions are filled by outstanding individuals who have grown with the company and benefit from comprehensive deal experience combined with an excellent network of contacts in their respective markets.”

In December, Union Investment appointed former Deutsche Bank managing director and Clifford Chance partner Jörn Stobbe as chief operating officer.

In terms of notable investment activity, Union Investment awarded Deutsche Asset One, a real estate investment unit of Berlin-based firm Dupuis Investment and Asset Management, a mandate to create an open-ended fund to invest an initial €170 million in German residential assets. Several weeks earlier, the firm made its first US urban retail foray through the purchase of a minority stake in four retail buildings in a joint venture with TH Real Estate, which will hold a majority stake.

Union Investment manages five German open-ended real estate funds. At present, according the firm’s website, it currently has assets under management of €29.3 billion.