Clarion Partners, a former ING business, has opened an office in London.
The New York-headquartered asset management house, which invests primarily in the US, Brazil and Mexico, has set up shop in Mayfair in order to be closer to European clients, but will consider investing in UK real estate, according to managing director Hugh Macdonnell.
The new office is the first that the asset manager has opened outside the US since its sale by Dutch institution ING in November last year for a reported $100m.
Clarion Partners has appointed Jeroen Verheijden, previously client portfolio manager with Aviva Investors’ global real estate multimanager team, to manage the London office as senior vice-president.
Verheijden will spearhead Clarion Partners’s client business in the Middle East, Europe and the UK.
While Clarion will focus on bringing investment into the US for the time being, the asset manager is also “open to the possibility of investing in Europe”, said Macdonnell. But such a move would most likely involve partnering with an existing group or platform, he added.
Mid-sized real estate investment manager Clarion Partners has around $25bn (£15.5bn) under management globally, and has been in business for 30 years.
