London’s INTERNOS Global Investors to rebrand following acquisition

Pan-European real estate investment manager INTERNOS Global Investors has been snapped up by US-owned Principal Global Investors (PGI).

London-headquartered INTERNOS employs over 100 people across offices in eight European countries and has €2.68bn (c.£2.32bn) in assets under management.

PGI, part of Iowa-headquartered Principal Financial Group, said the deal will expand its investment services to clients across a number of key European jurisdictions.

INTERNOS has regulatory approval across several markets in Europe, including from BaFin in Germany, CSSF in Luxembourg, AMF in France and the FCA in the UK.

Following the acquisition, INTERNOS will rebrand to Principal Real Estate Europe but retain its investment independence and management team.

It will operate as part of PGI’s Principal Real Estate Investors business, which manages or sub-advises $79.2bn (c.£55.2bn) in real estate assets globally.

Tim Stumpff, CEO of Principal Global Investors Europe, said: “This acquisition marks a significant step in our strategy to continue to grow PGI’s investment capabilities and operations in Europe.

“We are excited by the opportunity to expand our client base in Europe alongside offering greater access to attractive pan-European Real Estate investment opportunities to our existing clients globally.”

Andrew Thornton, chief exec of INTERNOS, now Principal Real Estate Europe, commented: “Since reaching an acquisition agreement with Principal Global Investors in November, we have had the opportunity to work more closely with their team and explore a range of strategies to expand our investment activity across Europe.

“The combination of our European platform and expertise together with Principal’s investment capabilities and access to global capital is going to create exciting investment opportunities at an interesting phase of the real estate investment cycle.”