Pan-European real estate investment manager Boreal IM has strengthened its asset management and finance teams with the appointment of Marcel den Adel, William Preece and Denise Crawford.
Den Adel, who will be based in the Netherlands, was most recently a Regional Director at Mileway and joins as Principal. He will be responsible for managing Boreal’s Dutch assets, currently numbered at 22 following the acquisition of two portfolios last year.
Preece, who joins from UK logistics developer and asset manager Canmoor, has been appointed as Vice President and will look after the management of the UK portfolio, currently two urban logistics parks in London and three assets in the Midlands.
Crawford joins from Foot Anstey LLP as Company Secretarial Manager and now joins Boreal as Vice President, responsible for company secretarial services.
They will report to Peter Bingel, who is responsible for the asset management and finance teams, and will be closely involved in Boreal’s ESG activities.
Den Adel brings over 15 years of experience to Boreal, including roles at Mileway and M7. At Mileway, he oversaw the strategic implementation and management of its Southwest Netherlands portfolio and was involved in acquisitions and disposals across the country. He was a Senior Asset Manager for M7’s Netherlands value-add portfolio.
At Canmoor, Preece was responsible for the asset management and leasing advisory services for a +£250m portfolio, with clients including Legal & General IM, BA Pension Fund, Tristan Capital Partners and AIMCo. His 11 years in the industry have included roles at King Sturge/JLL, CBRE and Fletcher King PLC.
Crawford brings 15 years of experience to the business, having worked at CEG, Apex Group, State Street and Barclays Wealth in both in-house and external corporate and administrative roles.
The appointments bring Boreal’s headcount to 22. In its first year and a half of operation, its pan-European logistics joint venture with Cadillac Fairview has transacted on almost €1bn of deals in the UK, Netherlands, France and Spain.
Peter Bingel, CFO and Partner at Boreal IM commented: "We welcome Marcel, Will and Denise to the Boreal team, and the strength and experience they bring to our bench.
“Boreal invests across the risk spectrum in leading European economies and our newest team members will help us shape our asset management strategy both at asset and corporate level. They will be involved at acquisition underwriting while focusing on delivering our business plans from a financial and ESG perspective.”
Marcel den Adel, Principal, Asset Management at Boreal IM, commented: “Boreal has already established itself as a leader in European logistics, with a series of impressive acquisitions in core Western European markets. It is well capitalised, dynamic in its thinking and highly experienced in a sector that has demonstrated its resilience in a challenging macro environment.
“I look forward to growing its presence in the Netherlands, where low vacancy rates, increasing land scarcity and continuing strong demand form an attractive investment case.”
William Preece, Vice President, Asset Management at Boreal IM, commented: “Boreal understands the value of proactive asset management in the logistics sector and that, complemented by the pedigree of its team, was a real pull factor for me. Meaningful engagement with tenants and an appreciation of their ever-changing requirements are an important part of both future proofing assets and creating value for investors.
“I look forward to lending my experience to the business and helping to build upon the firm reputation it has developed.”
Denise Crawford, Vice President, Finance and Operations at Boreal IM commented: “Using my experience in spearheading companies’ secretarial and compliance service offerings, I look forward to working alongside the Boreal team to ensure smooth coordination and operations within the organisation.”
Notes to editors
About Boreal IM
Boreal is a pan-European investment management firm founded by its Partners, who on average bring over 18 years of industry experience across all sectors, geographies and transaction types. It is supported by a highly motivated and aligned team of skilled professionals focused on acquisitions, asset management and finance. It is headquartered in London and has staff in France and the Netherlands.
Boreal analyses macroeconomic trends and paradigm shifts to identify thematic investment opportunities across Europe. Boreal’s current investment focus is logistics and light-industrial properties across Europe. Boreal is focused on assets across core European locations where fundamentals support the competitive demand for logistics, targeting properties across the spectrum, from standing assets to ground-up development.
Leveraging the team’s experience, market knowledge and established networks, Boreal aims to create and to drive long-term value for its investment partners in a sustainable and responsible manner.
About Boreal IM’s Partners
Boreal IM’s Partners have collectively deployed over €3bn of capital in the industrial sector with some of the world’s largest investors. The Partners have seasoned and highly relevant experience in acquisitions, asset management, finance and platform growth.
Louis-Simon Ferland is the founder and CEO at Boreal IM. Before founding Boreal IM, Louis-Simon was a partner at TPG responsible for European investments of a $3.7bn global opportunistic fund. Prior to TPG, Louis-Simon was a managing director at Blackstone from 2010 to 2019, where he oversaw the creation of Blackstone’s acquisition program in the European logistics sector. He was actively involved in a variety of European real estate acquisitions, disposals and financings, with a total investment value of more than €20bn. He invested across all major real estate asset classes and transacted across 20 European countries. Louis-Simon began his real estate career as a part of Merrill Lynch’s Global Principal Investments team in London, focusing on pan-European investments. Louis-Simon received Common and Civil Law degrees from McGill University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Nikos Koulouras is a partner at Boreal IM. He has over 20 years of investment experience across a number of asset classes with a focus on logistics. Nikos has spent over seven years at AEW, one of the largest global investment managers, where lead the firm’s pan-European value-add investments. He has been directly involved in over €2bn of acquisitions on behalf of institutional capital, managed accounts and funds. He has led transactions across twelve European countries. Prior to joining AEW, Nikos was joint head of real estate at Salamanca Group in London and an associate in the real estate team at Merrill Lynch. As a trained architect, Nikos spent his formative years designing large-scale residential and commercial developments in Australia and Greece, before moving into real estate development and investment. Nikos completed a degree in Architecture at RMIT University in Melbourne and an MBA at Columbia University in New York.
James Farmer is a partner at Boreal IM. Before joining Boreal IM, James was a partner at Europa Capital where he was the regional head of Germany, the Netherlands & CEE and led all logistic transactions for multiple funds across the risk spectrum. James has 17 years of European real estate experience and has invested across core, value-add and speculative development strategies. He has worked in Real Estate Banking and for leading real estate consultants CBRE and JLL. James has been involved in €2bn of acquisitions across eight European countries with around 50% invested in the logistics sector. James completed a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at the University of Leicester and Master of Science in Real Estate at the University of Reading.
Peter Bingel is a partner and CFO at Boreal IM. Before joining Boreal IM, Peter was at Blackstone for 12 years, where he was a director in their finance team. Peter has over 15 years of experience in real estate and was the CFO of Blackstone’s UK asset management platform for six years. In his previous role, Peter led the implementation of best-in-class financial reporting to investors, compliance matters, and the provision of accounting supervision and structuring in relation to new acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and fund creation. Peter graduated from a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting, Financial Management and Economics from the University of Sheffield.