EQT strengthens Real Estate team

Earlier this year, EQT started an initiative to investigate investment opportunities in the real estate sector across Europe. To lead the initiative, Edouard Fernandez and Rob Rackind joined forces with Investment Advisor EQT Partners, as Real Estate co-heads and Partners. Edouard and Rob bring a proven track record from the sector and are mostly known as co-founders of Wainbridge, a specialist value-add real estate investment firm. The team is now growing with the hire of Henrik Orrbeck, who will be a Director with a focus on the Nordic region, and Frank Forster, who will be a Director with a focus on Germany.

“The Nordics and Germany are attractive regions for the initiative, given their liquidity and the positive macro growth. With Henrik and Frank on board, we will be able to further explore local opportunities”, says Edouard Fernandez.

Rob Rackind adds: “Henrik and Frank will be responsible for sourcing and advising on projects within their respective regions, with the support of the team in London. Their local expertise, together with the extensive EQT network, will bring further depth to the real estate initiative”.

Henrik Orrbeck joins from Carlyle Real Estate, after spending nine years with them in the Nordic region. Most recently, Henrik was Head of the Nordics and responsible for deal sourcing, negotiations, structuring, due diligence, asset management and divestments. Previous roles include GE Real Estate, where he focused on commercial aspects of new deals.

Frank Forster joins from Mount Kellett Capital Management, where he was a Director. Prior to this, he worked for Strategic Value Partners (SVP), where he was responsible for asset management of the firms’ German real estate portfolio. Previously, he spent nearly a decade at Blackstone, where he worked on real estate investments across Europe.