Deutsche Bank's European commercial real estate group in London is losing a director and adding a v.p. Director Mathieu Chabran is leaving this week to set up an alternative investment fund in Paris, while Birju Shah is joining in the near future as a v.p. from J.P. Morgan in London, where he was a v.p. in the European real estate structured finance group.
Chabran declined to give more details regarding the fund he is co-founding. At J.P. Morgan, Shah reported to Jon Rickert, who recently moved to London from the U.S. to head up European real estate structured finance (BW, 1/10). A spokesman for J.P Morgan said the group plans to make eight to 10 hires in the coming months, across the regional teams in the U.K., France and Germany. Rickert did not return calls to his office; Shah, who is on gardening leave, did not return calls.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank's real estate group plans to increase its sales of real estate-backed bonds this year after having originated a lot of product over the past year or so, according to Clive Bull, director. Bull himself just joined the team last week, having resigned from J.P. Morgan earlier this year. Bull, in a new role, is responsible for all commercial mortgage-backed securitization, both on a principal and agent basis. He also has responsibility for any warehouse lines the bank has extended. Bull declined comment on Shah's hire.