Partners Group further strengthens its Real Estate business with three leadership appointments

29 January 2024

• The firm adds a new Global Co-Head of Real Estate, Global Head of Platforms & OpCos, and Co-Head of Real Estate Europe
• The appointments complement and further strengthen Partners Group’s established global real estate team, bringing extensive experience in platforms and operationally intensive sectors
• Partners Group believes private markets will play a critical role in transforming real estate to meet thematic growth trends and navigate industry disruption

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, is further strengthening its Real Estate business with the addition of three new senior leaders. The appointments include Karim Habra as Global Co-Head of Real Estate based in Zug, Switzerland, Stephen McCall as Global Head of Platforms & OpCos based in London, UK, and Henrik Orrbeck as Co-Head of Real Estate Europe based in London, UK. Mr. McCall will start in February, while Mr. Habra and Mr. Orrbeck will both join the firm in March.

Karim Habra will become Global Co-Head of Real Estate alongside Mike Bryant, who is a Partner and the firm’s current Head of Real Estate. Mr. Habra has over 25 years of industry experience and joins from Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of Canadian pension fund CDPQ, where he was Head of Europe & Asia-Pacific and Global Head of Strategic Partnerships. Prior to that, Mr. Habra worked at LaSalle Investment Management, where he was most recently Head of Continental Europe; JER Partners; and GE Capital.

Stephen McCall will join Partners Group in the newly created role of Global Head of Platforms & OpCos. Mr. McCall, who has more than 25 years of operational leadership experience, will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s strategy for investing in real estate management teams and operating companies. This is designed to give the firm exposure to the full value chain in real estate investing, from sourcing through to managing and exiting an asset. Mr. McCall was previously CEO at edyn Group, an international hybrid hospitality platform owned by Brookfield Asset Management. Prior to that, he spent nearly 17 years at IHG plc, most recently as Chief Operating Officer for Europe.

Henrik Orrbeck will act as Co-Head of Real Estate Europe alongside AJ Jager, who is a Managing Director within the team. Mr. Orrbeck has over 20 years of industry experience and joins from EQT where he was a Partner and founding member of the firm’s real estate business. During his time at EQT, Mr. Orrbeck raised two funds and built a European team which invested in direct assets, operating partners, and public companies. Prior to EQT, Mr. Orrbeck spent nearly ten years at Carlyle, rising to Director for the Nordics.

These new appointments bring a wealth of complementary experience to Partners Group’s established global team across real estate investing and asset management, with a particular focus on platforms and operationally intensive sectors. This reflects Partners Group’s commitment to further scaling its real estate business, which currently has USD 17 billion in assets under management. Partners Group sees higher relative value in alternative and operational real estate, as well as the logistics and residential sectors.

Juri Jenkner, President, Co-Head of Investments, Partners Group, says: “Private markets are set to play a critical role in transforming real estate assets to meet powerful thematic growth trends, such as decarbonization, changing consumer preferences, and digitization. We have a clear strategic vision for how we want to grow our Real Estate business. The extensive combined experience of Karim, Henrik, and Stephen will be extremely valuable as we scale and navigate through disruption across occupier markets.”

Partners Group completed its first real estate investment in 1999. Since then, the firm’s Real Estate business has invested USD 28 billion globally and grown to around 100 investment professionals across Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific.

Source: Partners Group