Greystar has made Michela Hancock managing director for Europe to drive the rental giant’s expansion across the continent.
Hancock will work to identify new opportunities to support acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures across student accommodation, build-to-rent and senior living.
She will focus on growing Greystar’s third-party platform and strategic partnerships with country managers in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Hancock joined Greystar in 2015 and most recently led the development and construction team for two years, as managing director for the UK. She was previously director of PRS at Grainger and is on a number of public and private advisory boards, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Build to Rent Joint Committee and the British Property Federation Build to Rent Sub Committee.
Greystar’s first UK employee, Dave Thomas, will lead development in the UK, as senior director.
Thomas joined Greystar in 2014 to support the business launch and growth. He moved to iQ Student Accommodation but rejoined Greystar in 2018 to focus on prospective deals.
He will oversee the delivery of 4,000 flats in current developments including Nine Elms Parkside and Greenford Quay. He will also focus on new development opportunities in the UK.
Hancock said: “The potential for the growth of our third-party platform is huge given the depth of our management experience, extent of our global client relationships, and strength of our teams.
“The asset class is growing quickly across Europe and we are well positioned as a business to support this expansion.”
Mark Allnutt, senior managing director for Europe at Greystar, added: “Michela Hancock has been one of Greystar’s most tireless ambassadors and has played an integral role in establishing the business in the UK real estate industry.
“The strength of our global platform means that there is a significant opportunity to grow our third-party institutional client base in Europe.”
Greystar manages more than 660,000 homes in nearly 200 markets across the world, of which around 500,000 are managed on behalf of third-party institutional clients.
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