John Chantrell of Schroder Real Estate
Schroder Real Estate has appointed John Chantrell to the newly created role of Head of Asian Real Estate as the UK-based asset manager ramps up its presence in the region.
Chantrell, who will be based in Hong Kong, joins Schroders after previously spending more than eight years with Novion Property Group in Australia, where he most recently served as the retail real estate investment trust’s head of Asia Pacific. Novion last year merged with rival Federation Ltd to form Vicinity Centres.
In his new role, Chantrell will be responsible for real estate strategy and investments across the Asia Pacific region for Schroders. Reporting to the company’s global head of real estate, Duncan Owen, Chantrell will also be charged with developing other aspects of the company’s business in the region.
“Following the successful evolution of the real estate business across the UK and continental European markets, as well as the growth of our Global Real Estate Securities capability, expansion into Asia is a natural next step,” Owen said in a prepared statement. “Existing clients and strategic relationships are looking to expand into Asian real estate and we see a growing number of potential clients seeking investment opportunities in the region.”
Just last month Schroders pointed out the ascendancy of Asian locations in the inaugural edition of its “Global Cities 30 Index,” which ranked 161 cities worldwide for their real estate investment potential.
The index, which put Shanghai at the top of the world followed by New York, includes four mainland China cities among its top ten destinations. Notably, the study identified the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, which is notorious for its glutted real estate markets following a government-led investment boom, as the third-best city in the world to invest in property.
Beijing came just after Tianjin on the list with Shenzhen in Guangdong province ranked sixth. Dallas, Texas came in just after Beijing at number five.
In its statement, Schroders noted that Chantrell brings with him thirty years of experience in property and has previously held a number of senior posts at companies such as Advance Funds Management, Colonial First State Global Asset Management in addition to his time at Novion. Let’s hope that prepares him for Tianjin.
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