Schroders Capital's real estate team makes key hire to lead positive impact investment strategies
Schroders Capital today announces that Chris Santer has joined the UK real estate team as Fund Manager responsible for selecting investment strategies that seek to have a measurable positive social and environmental impact, whilst also delivering attractive financial returns.
As an integral part of its impact investment focus, Schroders Capital provides investment opportunities that seek to deliver a measurable positive impact on people, place and planet.
Chris will initially be responsible for selecting investments that seek to address social inequality, focused on deprived areas in the UK. The real estate team will use a proprietary impact measurement and management investment framework, developed in collaboration with impact investing pioneer BlueOrchard, who has been part of the Schroders Group since 2019.
Schroders Capital will invest with the aim to revitalise communities, address the housing crisis and promote employment opportunities and economic prosperity across the UK. The impact investment strategies will focus on town centres, homes and workplaces that are in areas defined as deprived by the UK government. This focus is complementary to the UK Government’s levelling up objectives and aims at spreading opportunities and prosperity via targeted real estate investments.
Chris will also lead the effort to expand Schroders Capital’s impact investment framework to deliver similar investments in Continental Europe.
Chris has over 25 years’ experience across commercial, residential and impact real estate investing including, most recently, a focus on healthcare investing as Chief Investment Officer at Primary Health Properties Plc. Prior to this, Chris has held various roles on pan-European and UK-only real estate funds at PGIM and MGPA, and holds an MBA from Warwick University. Chris is also Non Executive Director of Impact Healthcare REIT Plc.
Sophie van Oosterom, Global Head of Real Estate at Schroders Capital, commented:
“We are very happy to welcome Chris to our real estate team. Chris’ hire highlights Schroders Capital’s commitment to impact investing which, in turn, responds to a growing demand for direct investments that achieve strong positive social and environmental outcomes, as well as deliver an attractive financial return.”
Nick Montgomery, Head of UK Investment at Schroders Capital, commented:
“Chris’s extensive real estate experience, with a strong focus on the healthcare sector, complements our current real estate investment capabilities and will provide clients with access to a broad range of impact investment opportunities.”
Chris Santer, Fund Manager, Schroders Capital commented:
“I am delighted to be joining Schroders Capital at a pivotal time in the evolution of sustainability in real estate. The variation in prosperity across the UK, and an increasing focus on place-based impact investing, creates an exciting opportunity to contribute to finding solutions to these challenges.”
To find out more about Schroders Capital’s focus on real estate impact investing, please click here.