BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE) has announced the strategic appointed of Fergus Keane from Cushman & Wakefield as the new Head of its Central London Office Investment team.
Keane, currently an international partner in Cushman & Wakefield’s London Markets team, has over two decades of experience in commercial property throughout the UK and Ireland. Working primarily in the West End of London, he has been involved in many of the capital’s most prominent investment and funding transactions. Highlights include – advising Ingka on acquisition of 214 Oxford Street (formerly Topshop); advising Almacantar on the sale of Marble Arch development; advising on the sale of the Facebook HQ in Dublin; securing funding for NOVA in Victoria; and advising on the sale and acquisition of Coutts on The Strand three times.
“Fergus is one of a handful of agents that have transacted over £10 billion in their career. With a wide-ranging understanding of office and retail capital markets; his knowledge of Far Eastern investors and HNW global families is vast,” says Etienne Prongué, CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate UK. “BNPPRE is the only UK real estate adviser to be part of a banking group. This financial fluency means that our ability to provide not just property expertise but also financial solutions and insight is unrivalled, which is particularly relevant when it comes to capital markets. Fergus will be intrinsic in our plans to build our Central London capital markets team, emulating our market dominance in France and Germany; and maximising the value of the BNP Paribas Group. We can’t wait for him to join us.”
Commenting on his new role, Keane says: “BNPPRE is a market leader in office investment sales activity in Western Europe; consistently ranked amongst the top three brokerage firms in the region. Joining a business that uniquely combines commercial real estate with the backing of one the world’s most influential banks is a hugely exciting proposition. That, coupled with working with Etienne and the rest of the team in driving the business forward in London capital markets is what makes this role so appealing.”
The appointment follows BNPPRE’s recruitment of Andrea Williams Wedberg as Director in West End Agency and the promotion of James Carrington to Head of City Investment. He will work with the Senior Directors across Central London to build a diverse team of market specialists in the West End, which will form part of BNPRE’s wider Central London Investment team, advising investors, lenders, landlords and occupiers across asset classes.
The company is expected to announce additional hires across London in the coming weeks.
