European property fund managers are flavour of the month
Recruiters report booming demand for European property fund managers as well as the emergence of innovative new pay structures in the sector.
"We're seeing a lot of demand for German speakers with asset management or investment transaction experience," says Lucy Mackenzie, director of the European real estate finance business at property recruitment specialist Judd Farris. "There's also greater demand for those with experience in the Nordic regions. Germany is definitely coming back as a place for funds to invest in, while activity in the Nordic market is increasing."
European property funds are on a roll. Last week Henderson, the UK fund management group, attributed a 31% rise in its first half profits to the success of its property team. Groups such as Vivacon, Cordea Savills, and Summit have been raising property funds to invest in Germany, while Australian property company Multiplex Group recently revealed plans to launch a new property fund management business worth a combined €800m ($1bn) in the UK and Europe.
"We're busier than we've been for the past eight years," says Mackenzie. "A lot of new funds have been set up and venture capital companies which were not previously involved in property have pushed into areas like Eastern Europe."
The move by venture capital and private equity funds into the property space is creating a new pay paradigm, says Mackenzie. Such funds typically pay a base salary, plus carried interest based on the long term success of their investments.
Mackenzie says property fund managers with between seven and 10 years' experience who move into this kind of outfit can command basic salaries of between 70,000 and 90,000, plus carried interest equivalent to as much as twice this annually.
By comparison, she says established property fund managers traditionally offer similar salaries and more generous perks, without the carried interest. "Some are now moving to a carried interest model in order to compete with the opportunity funds."
