Private equity firm Carlyle Group has poached Anssi Halonen from Angelo Gordon as it ramps up its European real estate business.
The US firm is currently raising its first global real estate fund, the $4bn (£2.6bn) Carlyle Global Real Estate Fund, its
first vehicle focusing on Europe since its 2007 €2.2bn (£1.6bn) Europe Real Estate Partners III fund.
Halonen’s hire sees him reunited with former colleague and Carlyle’s new head of European real estate funds, Peter Stoll.
The pair worked together at Blackstone from 2007 to 2013, when Halonen moved on to become vice president at Angelo Gordon’s real estate business. Prior to Blackstone, Halonen was an analyst in the industrials team of Citigroup’s investment banking business in New York.
Carlyle is determined to turn around its fortunes in Europe, where it endured a tough downturn.
Many of the Europe REP III fund’s initial investments were impaired heavily by the falling real estate markets of 2008.
The fund was still making losses when former co-head of real estate Robert Hodges and Eric Sasson left to set up their own fund in March 2013, delaying fundraising efforts until a new head was found in Stoll nearly two years later.
However, prudent sales in recent years have restored investor confidence in the business.
Shortly after Stoll’s arrival in February, the Pure Student Living London portfolio was sold for £532m, securing a significant return for investors.
Carlyle has also sold assets from the White Tower Portfolio, which was purchased in 2010 from Simon Halabi for £671m, into a strong market this year.
