The sale of the real estate arm has prompted the UK firm to merge several of its operations to form a new real assets business.

Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management, the global real estate investment manager, has agreed to acquire the real estate multi-manager (REMM) of UK firm Aviva Investors and full ownership of the management of the Encore+ fund.

LaSalle and Aviva Investors, the global asset management arm of Aviva, have entered into a binding contract - the financial terms of which were not disclosed - and the deal is expected to be completed by the end of year. Aviva's REMM business has $7 billion of assets under management.

The division will be headed up by Ed Casal, who, as part of this acquisition, will be joining LaSalle from his current role as chief executive of real estate at Aviva and co-founder of its global indirect real estate business. Casal, who will be based in New York, will also be joining LaSalle's global management committee.

LaSalle will also be acquiring Aviva's rights and responsibilities as the fund manager of Encore+, the open-ended Continental European real estate fund which has been jointly managed and run by both parties for 11 years. It will become the sole manager of Encore+ and David Ironside will become the fund manager. The fund has a gross asset value of €1.7 billion ($1.97 billion).

“A strong multi-manager capacity has become increasingly important to LaSalle's clients, and our global footprint and expertise provide a solid foundation to strengthen the incoming global indirect capabilities,“ Jeff Jacobson, global CEO of LaSalle Investment Management, said. “This will enhance our capabilities to offer comprehensive integrated investment solutions across the risk spectrum in third-party fund investing, joint ventures and co-investments.”

Restructuring
Following Aviva Investors decision to sell its REMM business to LaSalle IM, it has decided to merge its direct real estate, infrastructure, structured finance and private debt operations to form a new real assets business.

The new Aviva Investors Real Assets (AIRA) business will focus on being a direct operator in real assets, with full control over fund management, asset management, origination and distribution in its chosen markets.

Mark Versey has been appointed chief investment officer of the new real assets business.  He will oversee around 300 professionals in five locations (London, Norwich, Paris, Frankfurt and Toronto) working across fund management, asset management, asset origination, underwriting, research and business management.

The rest of the Aviva Investors Real Assets management team consists of: 

- Barry Fowler, managing director of alternative income
- Daniel McHugh, managing director of real estate investments
- David Skinner, managing director of real estate strategy and fund management
- Chris Urwin, director of research of real assets

“Integrating our real asset capabilities onto a single platform makes sense for our clients and our business,” said Euan Munro, CEO of Aviva Investors. “By focusing on our existing origination strengths in Europe and building out our product and global distribution capabilities, I am confident that we will establish Aviva Investors as a market-leading real assets platform. This is a key priority for our business.”