CBRE director exits for BidX1 role

CBRE’s capital markets head in Ireland Johnny Horgan has left the firm to join online auctioneer BidX1. [caption id="attachment_802661" align="alignright" width="150"] Johnny Horgan[/caption] Horgan, who spent five years with CBRE in Dublin, has joined the auctioneer today as managing director of Europe, responsible for expanding the firm’s European footprint. Horgan previously worked as head of alternatives for Irish Life for nearly five years. He has been replaced in his role at CBRE by executive director Kyle Rothwell. Ireland-based BidX1, which was founded in 2011 and made its UK debut in 2018, has ambitions to take its digital auction platform global. Alongside South Africa, Ireland and the UK, BidX1 has recently launched offices in Madrid and Nicosia in Cyprus. Until 2016, BidX1 operated mainly as a traditional auctioneer and raised more than €750m (£673m) through sales in Ireland. It refocused on online auctions in summer 2017 and has since raised another €750m. Horgan said BidX1 targets companies looking to sell off non-performing loan portfolios. “A lot of people who provide us with assets are buyers of loan books. Italy is on our radar as there are a huge amount of non-performing loan books there.” He added that buyers of NPL portfolios preferred to use a digital platform like BidX1 to dispose of assets efficiently. “These portfolios are expensive and people want to liquidate quickly,” he said. Europe’s NPL market exceeded forecasts last year as 2018 became the most active year on record, with €113.8bn of distressed real estate loans sold. To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette