DeA Capital Real Estate Germany – Acquisition of an established REIT team

DeA Capital Group, the leading independent asset management platform for alternative investments in Italy, founded DeA Capital Real Estate Germany GmbH, based in Munich, at the end of 2020. In addition to the focus on direct investments in real estate, the company also wants to offer its investors investment opportunities in the area of indirect real estate investments, in particular via Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and real estate equities.

For this purpose, DeA Capital Real Estate Germany has strengthened itself with Thorsten Schilling (52) and Martin Figge (57). The two highly experienced specialists for listed REITs and real estate shares come from Savills Investment Management, where they were successful and responsible for the management of REIT funds and special mandates until mid-2020. Schilling and Figge, who have been working together in the field of indirect real estate investment since 2006, have many years of expertise in capital and real estate markets as well as in researching REITs and real estate equities. 

Thorsten Schilling worked at FERI Research GmbH from 1995 to 2006, where he was responsible for the development and establishment of FERI Real Estate Research, and was subsequently responsible for global real estate strategy at SEB Asset Management between 2006 and 2015. At the same time, he held the position of Head of Real Estate Fund-of-Funds and was active in Real Estate Fund Management. After the acquisition by Savills Investment Management in 2015, he worked as an analyst and senior portfolio manager in the area of real estate securities, in particular REITs and real estate equities.

Martin Figge, started his career in securities settlement at BfG Bank from 1990 to 1999. As a securities trader in the fixed-income area, Figge held the position of securities trader and portfolio manager for various money market and fixed-income funds with a broadly diversified investment spectrum from government bonds and Pfandbriefe to corporate bonds (also from the real estate sector) and asset-backed securities (ABS) after moving to SEB Asset Management. Since 2015, he worked alongside Thorsten Schilling for Savills Investment Management in Frankfurt/Main as portfolio manager real estate securities and trader.

The REIT team reports directly to Wolfgang Speckhahn, who manages the business of DeA Capital Real Estate Germany GmbH as Managing Director from the company’s headquarters in Munich. Schilling and Figge will continue to be supported by Thomas Körfgen, who advises his former team as an external senior advisor, in their new task and the establishment of indirect real estate investments in listed real estate securities, e.g. REITs, via fund structures also separate accounts and the offer of specialized research, analysis and portfolio management. Körfgen also left Savills Investment Management in mid-2020, where he was Managing Director Indirect Investments and led the REIT team. 

The first investment products with a focus on the German, but also pan-European real estate investment markets are in an advanced stage of preparation together with the Group companies. This includes in particular the launch of a REIT fund for subscription for institutional investors with a focus on global listed REITs, which will continue the successful track record of the REIT team. The launch of the first products will already take place in the first quarter of this year.