CoStar Profile: Rockspring big hitters reunite for value-add partnership Evonite

Evonite, the new London-based and independently owned European value-add real estate partnership, has announced its two additional founding partners are José Pellicer and Chris Warren.

CoStar News caught up with the team recently, before the duo was recruited, to discuss why now is the right time to launch the business.

José Pellicer, who joins as partner, strategy, and Chris Warren, who joins as partner, finance and operations, will team up with: Paul Hampton, chief executive; Charles-Nicolas Tarrière, partner, portfolio management; and Kevin Muscat, partner, investments. The five founding partners worked together at Rockspring, and then Patrizia, for over 10 years on the TEP value-add fund series and their shared credentials include having invested over €3.5 billion across 14 European countries on behalf of four closed-end funds.

Pellicer's responsibilities will include heading up Evonite’s investment and ESG strategies, chairing the investment committee, being a key member of the capital raising team and overseeing the firm’s marketing and communications activities.

Pellicer has over 25 years’ experience in the real estate industry. Prior to Evonite he was the global head of investment strategy at M&G Real Estate where he chaired the global investment vommittee and was a member of the executive committee. Between 2004-07 and 2011-17, he was a partner at Rockspring Property Investment Managers and then Patrizia’s global head of research and a member of Patrizia’s senior leadership group. He has also worked for Goldman Sachs, AEW Europe and Deutsche Bank.

Warren will head Evonite’s finance and operations responsibilities across the business including fund-related treasury, tax and structuring, regulation, and compliance functions. He has 20 years’ experience in real estate investments and prior to Evonite, spent two years at Realty Income as head of ginance (Europe) where he built the international corporate finance team from the start, overseeing AUM growth from $3 billion to $11 billion.

Between 2004-08 and 2010-2021, he was at Patrizia where he led the firm’s London-based fund accounting and regulatory teams, co-launched multiple funds and joint ventures, as well as overseeing all corporate transactions. He also worked for Fidelity Investments as finance manager, assisting in the launch and implementation of its direct Real Estate investment business.

Launched in May 2024, Evonite's stated aim is to challenge the status quo with a vision to "build on a philosophy of delivering consistent performance for its investors across fund vintages". The team says it will pursue a thematic investment strategy led by "deep macro research, occupational market dynamics, risk analysis and asset management opportunities"

Pellicer said in a statement: “The real estate industry is currently undergoing one of the most interesting tectonic shifts I have experienced in my career. The geopolitical, economic and investment environment is fundamentally changing. It is the beginning of an exciting journey that has no equal.”

Warren added: “It is great to be working with Paul, Charles, Kevin and José again. Whilst we share a long dated transactional and fund formation history, it is also exciting to have the opportunity to establish a cutting-edge, next generation operational and controls framework from the outset. Challenging the status quo and offering investors something different requires solid plumbing!”

Paul Hampton, CEO of Evonite commented: “To finally have José and Chris onboard completes the launch phase of Evonite. We have reunited with the common purpose of putting our fund investors first at what is a significant point in our industry where attractive opportunities are beginning to appear.”

CoStar News met Charles-Nicolas Tarrière, partner, portfolio management, and Kevin Muscat, partner, investments, earlier this year to discuss why now was a perfect time to launch the business.

Tarrière says the market is at a crossroads. "Together we are aiming to bring performance. It is not just about managers grabbing assets under management and getting bigger and bigger for the sake of it. 2008 for instance was very difficult and we as a team were able to explain and show how we could create outperformance against the rest of market. And I think we can be better 20 years on."

Tarrière said the response to the launch had been very strong from "who we work, about how we continue to work".

Muscat said that regardless of when the wider market is coming back the group is able to focus on the investor and not just on shareholders. "It will be via value-add programmes."

The group has a London headquarters and will focus on the UK and Europe. "It will be core markets. We have been focused on logistics since the financial crisis and logistics will be a cornerstone, but one cornerstone for us. There are other asset classes we see value in," said Muscat.

Muscat added: "There are opportunities across Europe and we are looking across sectors focusing on stock selection. We have the track record of doing our research deeply and picking trends."

Muscat said he did miss the "brick-to-beam warehouse office conversion" movement in London in the last decade but made an early move in Berlin to follow this. "That was an excellent sidecar investment with rents moving strongly. We identify key themes in sectors and geographies."

Tarrière said data shows how emerging asset managers have often performed better than traditional ones in recent times and the gap grows in difficult market environments.

"There is a void for people really focused on performance and service – it is the right time. I wondered if we would miss the recovery in 2024 as we launch now but now I think we will be fine. What is good is people are amenable to doing business now. In terms of distress I don't think there will be too much, just some dislocation in terms of values."

Muscat added: "We are very focused on the occupier too – who they are, what they want and where they want to be. Strong asset management skills are needed more than ever."

And that name? The duo said Evonite refers to the evolution of the fund management business and where the team will take it and the common background of the team at Rockspring, whose symbol was an ammonite.