Hamburg/NYC — Union Investment Real Estate GmbH has reinforced its investment activities in the North American retail markets by hiring retail expert Kseniya Merritt. Merritt joined Union Investment’s team based in New York City on May 1st. Ms. Merritt will be in charge of expanding Union Investment’s existing retail portfolio in the U.S. as well as investigating market entry opportunities in Canada. In her retail capacity, Ksenyia Merritt reports to Henrike Waldburg, who is heading the company’s retail investment department based in Hamburg/Germany. Union Investment currently holds some 80 retail properties in its portfolio. Already active in the US office markets for over 30 years, the company entered the U.S. retail sector last year by purchasing a 49% stake in four retail properties in NY, Philadelphia and San Francisco via a joint venture with TIAA Global Asset Management.
Merritt brings twelve years of commercial real estate experience with a speci
ality in retail. Kseniya joins the company from Brixmor Property Group, where she ran the capital recycling program for the South Region of the company consisting of 154 shopping centers. Prior to that, she spent ten years at a private equity firm, Lamar Companies, where she focused on retail and was responsible for deal sourcing, due dilligence, and securing of equity and debt financing for the transactions.