BNP Paribas Real Estate has appointed Fergus Keane as a senior director to lead its central London investment team.
Keane, an international partner in Cushman & Wakefield’s London markets team, has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial property market throughout the UK and Ireland.
Working primarily in the West End of London, Keane has been involved in many of the capital’s most prominent investment and funding transactions.
Highlights include advising Ingka on its acquisition of the former Topshop flagship on Oxford Street; advising Almacantar on the sale of the Marble Arch development; advising on the sale of the Facebook HQ in Dublin; securing funding for NOVA in Victoria; and advising on the sale and acquisition of Coutts on The Strand three times.
BNP PRE said it plans to make additional hires across London over the coming weeks.
Keane said: “BNP PRE is a market leader in office investment sales activity in western Europe; consistently ranked among the top three brokerage firms in the region. Joining a business that uniquely combines commercial real estate with the backing of one the world’s most influential banks is a hugely exciting proposition.
“That, coupled with working with Etienne and the rest of the team in driving the business forward in London capital markets, is what makes this role so appealing.”
Etienne Prongué, chief executive at BNP Paribas Real Estate UK, said: “Fergus is one of a handful of agents that have transacted more than £10bn in their career. With a wide-ranging understanding of office and retail capital markets, his knowledge of Far Eastern investors and HNW global families is vast.”
He added: “Fergus will be intrinsic in our plans to build our Central London capital markets team, emulating our market dominance in France and Germany, and maximising the value of the BNP Paribas Group. We can’t wait for him to join us.”
Martin Lay, head of London capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We wish Fergus all the best and thank him for his contribution while with the firm. We have an exciting book of business going forward, coming off the back of a first quarter in which we advised on two of the largest deals in London in Central Saint Giles and The Scalpel and welcomed exciting new talent including Miles Payne to the team. Our focus, as always, is supporting our investor clients with the very best advice and insight.”
Keane’s appointment follows BNP PRE’s recruitment of Andrea Williams Wedberg as a director in the West End agency team, and the promotion of James Carrington to head of city investment.
Carrington will work the senior directors across Central London to build a diverse team of market specialists in the West End, which will form part of BNP PRE’s wider central London investment team.
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