Schroders real estate boss Duncan Owen to step down

Duncan Owen, global head of real estate at asset manager Schroders, is stepping down from the role at the end of the year. He will be replaced by Sophie van Oosterom, chief executive and chief investment officer at CBRE Global Investors. Georg Wunderlin, global head of private assets at Schroders, said Owen has “has steered the team through an important phase of growth” and added that van Oosterom would “help us achieve the next phase in our growth for our real estate and broader private assets platform”. From next year, Owen will become a special adviser to the group with a focus on Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust, the UK-focused REIT he has managed since its listing in 2004. In that role he will continue to work with Nick Montgomery, the group’s head of UK real estate. He will also continue to work with Schroder European REIT, and will attend board meetings for that business. Owen joined Schroders in 2012 when it acquired Invista Foundation Property Trust, which became Schroder REIT. At the group he led a team that put in place a focus on investing in “winning cities”, including in its UK and Europe-focused REITs. “We said there were five key mega themes,” Owen told EG earlier this year. “Urbanisation; changing demographics – ageing population, people living longer; the technological revolution – what it was going to do to retail and logistics and so forth; the huge growth in demand for power and resource and infrastructure; and the shift to emerging markets. And now we have added positive impacts.” Owen has also helped to drive Schroders’ international expansion. Earlier this month Schroders announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Pamfleet, a value-add real estate manager with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Owen will also continue to sit on the board of the enlarged Pamfleet business. To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette