Avison Young has announced the expansion of its operations in Central Europe, setting up a strategic affiliation with Limehouse to deliver commercial real estate advisory in Hungary.
Limehouse will now operate its advisory services in Hungary under the Avison Young brand, while carrying on its asset management activity in parallel as Limehouse Partners.
Based in Budapest, Limehouse manages the assets of institutional investors from across the globe who are committed to the Central and Eastern European market and recently expanded its service portfolio to include capital markets, property and project management to serve its established client base.
‘The addition of Limehouse’s advisory know-how to Avison Young builds on our continuing expansion across Europe where we see opportunities for growth as we focus on innovation, technology and leveraging the value of property for our clients,’ said Mark Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young. ‘Adding breadth and depth to our global platform fuels the collective intelligence that helps occupiers and investors achieve economic, social and environmental outcomes.’
Limehouse is the successor of Lodge and Partners, formed in 2016 by founding partners Jake Lodge and Célestin Huot-Marchand. They were joined at the end of 2020 by capital markets leader Benjamin Perez-Ellischewitz from JLL who brings 20 years of experience in the Hungarian market, covering large portfolio and platform deals.
‘We’ve been dedicated to delivering strong returns to our clients through acquisition, management and enhancement of commercial property investments,’ said Lodge. ‘In joining Avison Young, the growth of our advisory business is enhanced by a multinational platform that is built on technology. Avison Young’s network and insights will help us deliver value for clients who seek professional real estate services across the Central and Eastern European market.’
The team has extensive experience in the region, having previously managed an AXA-IM Real Assets portfolio of more than €1.6 bn with assets spread across Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Collectively they have transacted more than €3.5 bn of commercial real estate and today manage a portfolio of approximately 68,000 m2 on behalf of institutional investors and UHNWI.