Chicago-headquartered Harrison Street has appointed Paul Bashir as the new chief executive of its European business.
He will join the investment management firm on 1 June after nearly 12 years at Round Hill Capital where he was chief operating officer. He was also president of the business for the past two years.
Bashir will head up the expansion of Harrison Street’s investment strategies in student housing, build-to-rent and healthcare real estate. Since 2015 the firm has invested around €2.4bn in the student housing and private rented sectors in Europe and currently manages 11,579 student housing beds and 1,321 build-to-rent units. The firm recently entered the life sciences sector with the purchase of five life sciences and innovation properties in the UK.
Bashir will also be responsible for overseeing and growing the firm’s teams across the UK and Europe.
Based in London, Bashir will report to Robert Mathias, partner and head of Harrison Street’s international business.
Mathias said: “We are thrilled to welcome an executive of Paul’s calibre to Harrison Street as we continue to scale our growing European platform, expand our world-class team and drive attractive investment opportunities for our global investors.
“Paul is a proven leader whose diverse skill set, investing acumen, network of industry relationships and deep understanding of Harrison Street’s core sectors, make him the ideal fit to lead the day-to-day growth and execution of our European strategy.”
Christopher Merrill, Harrison Street’s chairman and chief executive officer, added: “Amid these unprecedented times, Harrison Street is committed to its objective of generating exceptional risk-adjusted performance across cycles globally by investing in needs-based asset classes that it believes are resilient and backed by strong demographics.
“We continue to see strong demand for high-quality student housing, build-to-rent and life sciences assets in Europe, which are needed now more than ever. Paul is a seasoned and talented investor who shares our values, has a deep understanding of market environments and highly complex situations, and will meaningfully bolster our European capabilities.”
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