OUT NOW – Michael Kovacs, Founding Partner at Castleforge, a research-based, thematic, vertically integrated real estate investor, investing in the UK and Europe on behalf of pension funds, institutions and individuals, sits down with me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week.
Prior to founding Castleforge in 2010, Michael worked at Westbrook Partners in London, where he was involved in transactions representing over £2bn of asset value for Westbrook's various funds in the UK, Europe and Asia across a diverse range of real estate investment types. Prior to Westbrook Partners, Michael worked at the Blackstone Group in New York. Michael graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I sat down with Michael, to discuss a broad range of subjects which covered some of the following topics:
• How he got into real estate and his early career steps • How getting stuck in a lift triggered the start of setting up a business • Evolving the business from advisory mandates to, co investing on deals, and then raising discretionary funds • Evolution of the office market and where the opportunity sits • Why vertical integration mattered in building Castleforge • The disconnect between occupier demand and investor sentiment relating to offices • Asia and the Middle East, capital raising pivot • Fundraising challenges - why raising Fund 4 has been tougher than the debut fund • Datacentre exploration, and debut deal
Oh and one last question - who are the People, what Property, and in which Place Michael would invest should he have £500m of capital at his disposal.
Catch the full episode which is live on Youtube, Spotify and Apple NOW!
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