Savills Investment Management, the global real estate investment manager, has appointed Pierre Escande as Head of Investment, France and Belux. Pierre will report into Laurent Vouin, Savills IM’s Head of France and Benelux.
Pierre will be responsible for originating new investment opportunities in what has become an increasingly active market for Savills IM. In the last 18 months, Savills IM has completed approximately €500m of transactions in France and Belux, of which €450m were acquisitions. Savills IM’s total assets under management in the region now stand at over €900m.
Recent Savills IM transactions in France and Benelux include the acquisition of two designer outlet centres in Troyes and Roubaix respectively for around EUR 300 million, and a distribution centre in Belleville-Sur-Saône, Lyon on behalf of Savills IM’s pan-European Logistics Fund (ELF 2). In the last week Savills IM acquired an office building in the centre of Brussels on behalf of its flagship European Commercial Fund (ECF).
Pierre joins Savills IM from AEW, where he was an Executive Director in the Paris office and more specifically, a fund manager in charge of the development and the management of major institutional client portfolios. Previously, he was an Associate Director at Invesco. He started his career at CBRE Capital Markets before moving to CBRE Global Investors in London.
Laurent Vouin, Head of France and Benelux at Savills IM, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Pierre to the team at this exciting time in our development. His experience and track record will be invaluable as we continue to scale our investment activity in the region. We look forward to working closely with Pierre to take our portfolio in France and Benelux to the next level.”
Pierre Escande commented: “I have been impressed with the success Savills IM has achieved in recent years and look forward to playing a key role in driving forward its ambitious growth strategy in France.”
Savills IM is the investment management business of Savills plc.