Meyer Bergman hires Vanke chief as MD

Meyer Bergman has appointed the former UK head of China Vanke, Lily Lin, as managing director for the UK and Ireland. [caption id="attachment_1057744" align="alignright" width="200"] Lily Lin[/caption] Lin established the UK arm of the business for Vanke, one of China’s largest resi developers and an investment partner of Meyer Homes. She will work for the private equity firm on new investments repositioning opportunities in city centres, with a focus on London and Dublin. She will build on existing investment strategies and grow the residential portfolio. Lin was appointed managing director for Vanke in 2015, joining from UBS. She grew the portfolio with a debut deal to buy a stake in The Stage development in Shoreditch, EC2, and later backing Meyer Homes’ residential platform acquired from Tesco’s Spenhill property development arm. Pan-European investor Meyer Bergman has a number of high-profile mixed-use schemes in the UK, including the redevelopment of the former Whiteleys shopping centre in Bayswater to create a hotel, retail and leisure space and luxury flats. Josip Kardun, chief investment officer at Meyer Bergman, said: “Residential real estate has proven particularly resilient as an asset class during this pandemic and is a sector we have increased our exposure to thanks to solid fundamentals and strong defensive characteristics, with most core European cities seeing a mismatch between supply and demand.” Lin added: “More than most, Meyer Bergman understands the challenges – but also crucially the opportunities – that have been created by technological change, urbanisation and, most recently, Covid-19.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Photo courtesy of Blackstock Consulting