Addington has appointed David Watt as senior advisor to help develop the firm’s Asian investor network, building on its existing relationships with highly regarded HK investors in the London office market. David’s new role will be alongside his existing advisory roles in Hong Kong and London.
David has over 40 years’ experience in the Asia and European markets and has acted on the development and investment of commercial projects across more than twenty countries. In Asia, David led the development team for China Central Place, Beijing and i-Square, HK.
He has also worked on fund strategy and set-ups in Korea and S.E. Asia.
David advised Prologis on their entry strategy into China and the development of their 3 million sq ft logistics centre in Shenzhen’s Yantian Port.
Other major office investment projects have included advising the Dubai Government on the development of Dubai IFC, the acquisition of Northgate House Seoul for M&G, a European investor on their stake in Seoul IFC, the leasing of HK’s 2IFC and the acquisition of Asia Plaza, Taipei for Shin Kong Life Insurance.
Addington already has exposure with several prominent Hong Kong investors in London where it is performing the asset management role on core Central London office buildings, including at 10 Fleet Place, where new leases on a total of 166,229 sq. ft. have been agreed across seven separate transactions since October 2021.
Martin Roberts, Principal at Addington commented, “We believe there are some very interesting opportunities in the London office market at current pricing levels. We are also seeing increased investor interest in our two core strategies for London – ‘Brown to Green office repositioning’ in Central London and the conversion of offices to residential for sale or rent in Greater London.”
“David will help connect us with Asian investors looking to access our asset and development management expertise in these two expanding and important areas of London real estate. We are excited to have him on board.”
Addington will be attending MIPIM Asia in December 2024.