Henderson Global Investors, the independent asset manager with over 90 billion assets under management, has announced the appointment of Andrew Friend as fund manager of its German Shopping Centre Fund, which is expected to grow to €2 billion.
The fund is a 50/50 joint venture between Management für Immobilien AG (mfi), one of Germany's leading in-town shopping center development and management companies, and Henderson Global Investors. It will offer international and domestic investors exposure to high end specialist retail property throughout Germany.
Mr. Friend has been at Henderson since 2001 as manager of its £1.6 billion Retail Warehouse Fund. Since its launch in 2001 the Fund has grown from 6 to 20 assets and achieved total returns of 18.9% per annum. A search for Andrew's replacement on the Retail Warehouse Fund is underway. Andrew will take over the German Shopping Centre Fund at the start of March 2008 to ensure a smooth handover.
Commenting on Friend's appointment, James Darkins, managing director of Henderson's property business, says, "Andrew is an incredibly experienced manager as proven by the success of the Retail Warehouse Fund. We believe that the German economy has shown the strongest signs of recovery in the Eurozone since 2001. Capital investment has reached a fifteen-year high following reunification and we expect these trends to continue fuelling the demand for high quality shopping centre space from tenants active within the German market.
"The success of the fund depends on the manager possessing three qualities: first retail experience; second market experience; and third technical experience. Andrew has all three of these qualities he has worked in retail property investment since 1991, before joining Henderson in 2001 he worked in Germany for Metro Asset Management, the property arm of the largest German retailer and his proven ability to launch and grow the Retail Warehouse Fund to its current size with exceptional returns for our investors speaks for itself."
Source: Henderson
