Knight Frank Investment Management unveils three senior hires

Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM), the specialist real estate investment management business which manages around £4bn of assets in the UK and internationally, has announced three senior hires as it targets further expansion and growth in the residential sector. It has appointed Ian Wilson as a partner to grow KFIM’s residential investment management business, as client demand for residential assets and impact investments continues to rise. Wilson’s initial focus will be on the UK with a longer-term ambition to develop a European residential business. KFIM has also strengthened its best-in-class research, forecasting and ESG expertise, with the appointment of Xaviere Roudeix-Crouan as head of Research and Forecasting, and Chantal Beaudoin, who joins as head of ESG. KFIM will create and deliver new investment products with environmental and social impact at their core. Wilson joins KFIM from CBRE Investment Management where he drove the development of the firm’s residential investment expertise. He moved from residential valuations into residential fund management in 2006, joining ING REIM to take over ING’s Residential Fund. During his career, he has focused on both deal execution and operational management of non-commercial property assets across the U.K. and has been at the forefront of investing institutional capital into residential assets, latterly as portfolio manager of the CBRE UK Affordable Housing Fund. It said he brings with him “significant experience” in capital raising, creating business and product strategy, and delivering development assets. In 2018, Wilson developed and launched the Affordable Housing Fund at CBREIM, a social impact vehicle which invested in affordable housing tenures, build-to-rent and shared ownership assets across the U.K. In addition, Xaviere Roudeix-Crouan has joined KFIM from real estate investment manager Redevco, where she was responsible for providing a strategic framework for investment management operations. At KFIM, her role combines a strong focus on quantitative modelling with research skills, supporting “high quality strategic thinking with robust and relevant insight and data”. Roudeix-Crouan will develop and promote evidence-based insights on the real estate market and advise KFIM on the most effective and successful investment strategies for its clients. Having joined as head of ESG at KFIM in the spring, Chantal Beaudoin is responsible for overseeing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), setting targets for KFIM’s real estate portfolios, and accelerating progress towards those goals. Beaudoin will also drive ESG efficiencies in the KFIM operational business. Previously S senior sustainability manager at Lamington Group, she developed the first industry roadmap with decarbonisation plans to meet science-based global net zero standards. She also launched the world’s first Whole Life Net Zero Carbon hotel, located in Chiswick, designed to be 89% more energy efficient than a typical UK hotel. Kevin Aitchison, CEO at Knight Frank Investment Management, said: “It is truly exciting to announce these 3 new appointments to KFIM. The depth of experience across these senior hires, together with the expertise that we are able to access through our relationship with Knight Frank, leaves KFIM extremely well placed to create and deliver compelling investment products that can also have a genuine social impact. “Whilst the past 10 years have seen the business grow from less than £500m of assets to c.£4bn, over the last 24 months we have re-set our aims and aspirations for the next five years - a balance between business growth, building our ESG advisory and residential investment capabilities, and delivering the investment returns expected by our clients.”

Knight Frank Investment Management unveils three senior hires

Xaviere Roudeix-Crouan has joined KFIM from real estate investment manager Redevco, where she was responsible for providing a strategic framework for investment management operations

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