FINANCE: PwC has recruited a former Jefferies banker to lead its real estate deals business.
The audit giant has appointed Simon Hampton, the former head of real estate, gaming and lodging at the investment bank, to the newly created position.
Hampton joins the firm as a corporate finance partner after four years at Jefferies and 13 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He will lead the real estate deals business, which includes business recovery services, transaction services and corporate finance, covering M&A, equity and debt capital raising, restructurings, due diligence and other advisory work.
The appointment marks a further expansion of PwC’s real estate practice as it boosts its asset and investment management services.
Simon Marriott, director, a chartered surveyor, joined PwC from Oxford Properties in September 2013 to provide asset management services to the team, which advises institutional and private investor clients across all property asset classes in the UK and Europe.
PwC’s head of real estate practice, Craig Hughes, said Hampton was “well-known as a leading real estate deal-maker”. John Dwyer, PwC’s head of deals and an executive board member, said: “Simon brings with him a wealth of experience….at a time when our market-leading deals practice is growing quickly.”
Hampton added: “PwC has a first-class, market-leading team working with property companies, funds, banks and alternative funders, on high-profile deals across the real estate market. We are seeing an uptick in an appetite to do deals.
“Both M&A and capital-raising volumes have increased across all subsectors, including REITs, property services companies, house builders, hotels, pubs and private equity funds. This is a really exciting time to be leading our team of advisers.”
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
