Grosvenor Fund Management has opened an office in Stockholm and added two recruits to its Swedish team.
The move follows the purchase of Unibail Rodamco’s four-strong Swedish retail portfolio last year on behalf of a consortium including Bouwinvest REIM and a major North American institutional investor.
Anneli Jansson has joined GFM from KF Fastigheter, one of Sweden’s largest retail groups and owner of the Co-op supermarket chain, Akademibokhandeln and Pan Vision, where she was tenant representative.
Prior to this she was with a local investment manager for a UK-based private equity fund.
Fredrik Massing will join the team in February from DTZ Asset Management, where he was responsible for the asset management and retail team.
The Swedish office, which will be overseen by Giles Wintle, managing director for GFM, Continental Europe, will focus on adding value to the existing, four-asset portfolio as well as identifying new opportunities in the region.
The 1m sq ft portfolio consists of three shopping centres in the Stockholm region and a prime supermarket in Helsingborg.
GFM global chief executive Jeffrey Weingarten said: “The local knowledge provided through our new Swedish office will help create value for our investor partners in this attractive market.
“It also adds to Grosvenor Fund Management’s growing international capability – we now operate from 10 offices worldwide.”
Wintle added: “The fundamentals of the Swedish market appeal to Grosvenor and our investor partners. The opening of an office in Stockholm underlines our long-term commitment to the region.”
Grosvenor Fund Management closed four new investment vehicles in 2011, with a combined investment capacity of more than £1bn (€1.2bn).
This includes the acquisition of a retail portfolio comprising six shopping centres across France and Sweden for the Grosvenor European Retail Partnership, a central London office partnership with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a US healthcare joint venture with the Kuwait Finance House, and a UK shopping centre mandate.
Bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
