#141 Jay Kwan - Managing Director and Head of Europe at QuadReal Property Group

6 snips

Sep 4, 2025

Jay Kwan, Managing Director at QuadReal Property Group, shares his journey from humble beginnings in LA to leading real estate investment across Europe. He discusses navigating capital cycles and the importance of cultural alignment in partnerships. Jay reveals insights on overcoming market uncertainties, sector convictions, and the flexibility of long-term capital. He emphasizes the potential of oversold sectors, mentions the evolving dynamics of retail and office spaces, and highlights the significance of having mentors outside your organization.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Lehman's Analyst Cull

Jay Kwan describes Lehman Brothers' analyst culling where 250 hires were cut to 75 amid the dot-com bust and 9/11.
The process was meritocratic and stressful, likened to a financial "Squid Game."

ANECDOTE

Raising A Hand To Go Global

Jay raised his hand to go to Japan with Soros to capitalise on asynchronous global cycles.
That decision launched his international investing career and led to multiple relocations.

ANECDOTE

From Tokyo To Frankfurt NPLs

Jay recounts being 'voluntold' to Frankfurt to pursue German NPL acquisitions after Tokyo.
The team bought about £2bn of NPL-backed commercial real estate during that stint.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Jay Kwan, Managing Director and Head of Europe at QuadReal Property Group, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week.

We cover Jay’s global journey from humble beginnings in LA, to Lehman Brothers, to leading international investment teams at Soros and TPG, and now spearheading QuadReal’s growth across Europe.

Jay shares hard-won lessons on capital cycles, navigating workouts, and building trust-based partnerships across multiple markets. He breaks down the thinking behind QuadReal’s platform strategy, sector convictions, and how they deploy long-term capital flexibly across the risk curve.

If you're interested in global real estate investing, institutional capital, platform-building, or market timing, this episode is worth your time.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• Breaking into real estate through Lehman Brothers and surviving the “Squid Game” analyst culling

• Gaining an edge through international experience across Asia, Europe, the US and Russia

• Learning through workouts, restructurings and JV fallouts that shaped his investment approach

• Building QuadReal in Europe from scratch. First hires, first deals, and their conviction-led strategy

• Why cultural and ethical alignment matter more than strategy

• Want to partner with QuadReal? Jay shares what they look for in an operating partner

• Navigating market uncertainty and geopolitical risk while staying agile

• The myth of permanence and how sectors can shift faster than expected

· Why you shouldn’t chase a pay cheque, instead focus on stacking skills, take international chances, and look for asymmetric opportunities.

And finally...

With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose?

Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.

#realestate #privateequity #property #podcast #investor