CB Richard Ellis Investors, the investment management affiliate of CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., with over €13 billion of assets under management, announced that it has acquired Oxford Property Consultants Ltd ('OPC'), a leading European real estate multi-manager and fund of funds business.
OPC¡¦s investment management business will be merged with CBRE Investors¡¦ existing UK multi-manager business to offer an international multi-manager platform to clients. The merged business, to be known as CBRE Investors Global Multi Manager, will launch a series of funds of funds and capitalise immediately on the growing opportunities that exist in the global marketplace for the management of indirect real estate investment portfolios.
Jeremy Plummer and Professor Andrew Baum, OPC¡¦s founders, have joined CBRE Investors. Jeremy Plummer is appointed Managing Director of the Global Multi Manager business and leads a team including Rupert Wingfield, who heads up CBRE Investors¡¦ existing UK multi-manager business. Andrew Baum is appointed Chief Strategist.
Andrew Baum will maintain his roles with the University of Reading and Property Funds Intelligence (PFI), which is not included in the acquisition and remains an independent company.
The key features of the transaction are:
- OPC provides CBRE Investors with an immediate exposure to the fast-growing European indirect real estate investment market, where OPC has been operating for three years. OPC is investment adviser to Pan European Real Estate Fund of Funds, the first core-plus fund of funds in the European market. OPC also manages segregated multi-manager pan-European portfolios for institutional clients.
- OPC and CBRE Investors¡¦ UK multi-manager businesses will be combined to provide CBRE Investors¡¦ Global Multi Manager with initial mandates of €1.09 billion.
- CBRE Investors Global Multi Manager will launch a series of funds of funds, the first of which will be a core-plus fund targeting Europe excluding the UK. The fund will provide investors with a well-diversified exposure to the Continental European market and will be especially well suited to UK investors seeking their first investment in European property outside the UK. This fund will be followed by a value-added fund of funds targeting Europe, including the UK, and an Asian value-added fund of funds.
- CBRE Investors Global Multi Manager will also manage segregated UK, pan-European or global multi-manager portfolios for larger clients who require a tailored portfolio.
- The establishment of the Global Multi Manager business complements CBRE Investors¡¦ direct investment and real estate securities lines of business. In 2005, CBRE Investors established its Global Real Estate Securities business, which invests in listed real estate securities and which currently has over $400 million under management. Jeremy Plummer will work with the Global Real Estate Securities team to offer clients global indirect solutions involving a mix of listed securities and unlisted funds.
Fund of funds launched by CBRE Investors Global Multi Manager will not be offered to U.S. investors.
Mike Marshall, chief executive, CBRE Investors UK, commented:
"A growing number of UK institutional clients are looking to have around 20% of their real estate exposure in markets outside the UK and many want to diversify risk by allocating capital across products and managers. The creation of CBRE Investors Global Multi Manager will provide our clients with a tailored service to access these markets with a highly experienced manager backed up by a network of international offices. We are very excited to be embarking on this next phase of our growth with the creation of this new business and look forward to welcoming Jeremy and Andrew to the team and benefiting from their significant expertise and track record."
Jeremy Plummer, managing director, OPC, said:
"CB Richard Ellis Investors¡¦ existing global business provides a strong platform to create a leading global multi-manager business. We wi
