CBRE hires Debt duo from JLL
Global real estate advisor, CBRE has today announced the appointment of Chris Gow as an Executive Director in its Debt and Structured Finance team, led by Paul Coates and part of CBRE Capital Advisors.
Gow joins from JLL, where he was Head of EMEA Debt Advisory for the Hotel & Hospitality Group. Chris spent the early part of his career with Bank of Scotland before moving to Lloyds and then a Special Situations Fund where he developed significant financing credentials across most Operational Real Estate (OPRE) asset classes. He moved into Debt Advisory in 2015 and to JLL in 2017, where he led the completion of £2bn of transactions over two years. Chris has extensive experience in all aspects of financing including acquisitions, refinancing, special situations and distressed asset handling.
In his new role, Chris will lead Debt Advisory for CBRE’s OPRE business working across the Hospitality, Healthcare, Senior Living, Education, Petroleum and Automotive, Self-Storage, Co-Living and Student Accommodation sectors to help service clients with their debt requirements.
CBRE’s OPRE platform unites specialist sector expertise across all operational asset classes, with in-depth financial capabilities, including debt origination, equity raising, M&A, financial modelling and loan servicing.
Last year, CBRE advised Marathon on the sale of a 17 IHG and Hilton-branded hotel asset portfolio and underlying operating platform to Thai based DTGO Corporation for in excess of £450m. This represented DTGO’s first strategic acquisition in the UK. CBRE subsequently arranged a £370m debt facility for the buyer and now manage the loan on behalf of the lender.
Gow’s hire follows the appointment of Stephen Barr as a Director in CBRE’s Debt Advisory team in March. Barr also joined from JLL and will be working with Chris to develop CBRE’s expertise in the OPRE debt advisory market.
We are delighted that Chris and Stephen have joined us as we continue to strengthen our Debt Advisory business across Europe. We have seen capital allocations to operational assets increase considerably over the last few years, in turn driving the demand for specialist debt advisory services. We always strive to give our clients a significant competitive advantage by delivering the best expertise and market intelligence, which the appointment of Chris and Stephen will allow us to do.
Chris Gow added: “I am delighted to be joining CBRE, the largest global real estate advisory firm, at what is likely to be an inflexion point for real estate debt advisory. I am looking forward to working with and developing the team to build on the existing strong track record of success, in an environment which brings together unrivalled real estate knowledge with first class financial expertise.”