AXA IM Alts appoints Rob Samuel as UK Head of Development

AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments with c. €168 billion of assets under management¹ , announces the appointment of Rob Samuel as UK Head of Development. Based in London, Rob will manage the full breadth of AXA IM Alts’ UK multi-sector development programme.  Rob joins AXA IM Alts effective immediately and will report to Germain Aunidas, Global Head of Development.

Rob’s appointment will be key to supporting the ongoing growth of AXA IM Alts’ market-leading development platform which pursues both develop-to-trade and develop-to-hold strategies over the whole asset classes spectrum and aims to capitalise on increasing occupier and investor demand for high-quality buildings which are future fit and have strong ESG credentials.

Rob has over 25 years of development and multi-sector experience in London and the wider UK, delivering high quality customer focused buildings designed to maximise value, and joins AXA IM Alts from the mixed use regeneration of Battersea Power Station (“BPS”), where he served as Chief Development Officer. Prior to BPS, Rob spent 12 years at FTSE 100 property company British Land, latterly as Head of Office Development. A Chartered Surveyor, Rob started his career at Knight Frank before moving to Orbit Developments.

Having overseen more than 5m sq ft of development, Rob has wide ranging experience of all elements of development and place making with emphasis on value creation, de-risking and delivering enhanced returns, whilst working closely with a variety of multi disciplinary teams and joint venture partners.

As one of the largest real estate markets in Europe, the UK is a key priority for AXA IM Alts’ Real Assets business, where it manages a €9.3 billion (£7.8 billion) real estate portfolio across multiple asset classes² , ranging from long term investments through to ground up developments, both of which are predominantly focused in the core metropolitan areas. AXA IM Alts has completed several large-scale and high-profile developments in the UK, including 22 Bishopsgate in London, while it continues to build out its portfolio of assets with flagship schemes including the final two phases of Assembly in Bristol, which comprises 121,000 sq ft of prime new riverside workspace. AXA IM Alts has completed over 300 development projects with a total value of c. €18 billion across Europe since 2000, and currently has a further c. €8 billion currently underway across nine countries.

Germain Aunidas, Global Head of Development at AXA IM Alts commented: “The UK is one of AXA IM Alts’ most important markets and home to some of our most significant and high-profile development projects. Engaging with Rob to lead our UK development platform is, given its calibre, integral to helping us achieve our strong ambitions in the country, both in terms of the projects we want to undertake and our pursuit of sustainable development.  It is particularly pleasing to welcome Rob to the team at a time when we are progressing a number of exciting opportunities across the office, residential and logistics sectors. Rob shares the wider development team’s vision and mission to create buildings that deliver environmental performance, long-term value and societal purpose, for investors, tenants, and people.”

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About AXA IM Alts
AXA IM Alts is a global leader in alternative investments with €168 billion of assets under management³ comprising over €80 billion of primarily private real estate, c.€77 billion of private debt and alternative credit, as well as c.€11 billion in Infrastructure, private equity and hedge funds. We take a 360° approach to real assets (real estate & infrastructure) investing with over €113 billion of assets under management in direct opportunities, held indirectly through debt and listed equities and via long term private equity investments into operating platforms. ESG is fully integrated into our investment decision making processes with our responsible investment approach anchored by the three key pillars of decarbonisation, resilience and building tomorrow. AXA IM Alts employs over 750 people located in 16 offices around the world and serves the needs of more than 500 clients from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East. We are the number one property portfolio and asset manager in Europe⁴ , and one of the largest worldwide. 

About AXA Investment Managers 
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a responsible asset manager, actively investing for the long-term to help its clients, its people and the world to prosper. Our high conviction approach enables us to uncover what we believe to be the best global investment opportunities across alternative and traditional asset classes, managing approximately €879 billion in assets as at the end of September 2021. AXA IM is a leading investor in green, social and sustainable markets, managing €577 billion of ESG-integrated, sustainable and impact assets as at the end of September 2021. We are committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across all our assets, and integrating ESG principles into our business, from stock selection to our corporate actions and culture. Our goal is to provide clients with a true value responsible investment solution, while driving meaningful change for society and the environment. At the end of June 2021, AXA IM employs over 2,488 employees around the world, operates out of 26 offices across 20 countries and is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management.

Visit our websites https://alts.axa-im.com and www.axa-im.com 
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