Hines has made two new appointments to support its UK asset management and development teams.
Leonora Downes joins Hines UK as an associate in the Retail Asset Management team. She will be responsible for retail leasing, both at 80 New Bond Street, Hines’ flagship mixed-use retail and office scheme in the heart of London’s West End, and at The Centre, Livingston, one of Scotland’s largest covered shopping centres.
Leonora brings experience in leasing and asset management across both the retail and office sectors. She joins Hines from British Land, where she was responsible for the management of the company’s central London and regional office portfolios.
Nick Hopwood joins the Hines UK Development Management team as an associate. Nick arrives from Ennismore, where he was responsible for the delivery of projects in London and Barcelona.
Nick’s initial focus in his new role will be on the delivery of Grainhouse in Covent Garden. The Grainhouse project was acquired by the Hines European Value Fund 2 (HEVF2) in 2020 and incorporates interlinked period buildings to deliver a consolidated modern office scheme, with street-level restaurant and retail amenities. To accommodate the continuing growth of both Hines UK and Hines Europe, both teams will be relocating to Grainhouse when the building, which is currently undergoing comprehensive redevelopment, is completed in early 2023.
These appointments follow the announcement of four new Hines UK hires in January 2022.
Hines said, together, they reflect its continued plans for growth building on a successful period of leasing and investment activity across a variety of sectors.
The firm has recently announced the launch of HEVF 3, its third European value-add fund, which is targeting €1.5 billion in equity commitments.
This will support further development and asset management across Europe’s most dynamic and liquid markets, the company said.
Ross Blair, senior managing director and country head of Hines UK, commented: “These new appointments build on a string of recent hires for Hines UK, each of which will support the expansion of our asset management and development expertise in line with our strategy for continued growth. Leonora and Nick will drive the delivery and ongoing success of Hines UK’s flagship projects, building on our market-leading track record of delivering strong returns to clients and exceptional service to customers.”
