CBRE hires from RBS to expand development and residential debt offer

CBRE, the international property consultancy, has expanded its line-up of debt specialists with the hiring of former Royal Bank of Scotland banker Chiara Zuccon.

As a senior director Zuccon will spearhead debt origination within CBRE’s development and residential investment unit. She will work with the consultancy’s UK development team – led by Peter Burns and Zoe Bignell – and the debt and structured finance team within the Capital Advisors business, led by Paul Coates, who joined CBRE from RBS in April.

Zuccon will help clients across the residential capital markets and development land teams to source and structure debt. In a statement, Burns said adding Zuccon’s expertise to the team “negates the need for clients to seek advice elsewhere”.

She was previously head of private rented sector at RBS and was responsible for the deployment of £1 billion (€1.1 billion) of senior lending into the UK’s build-to-rent residential sector. Prior to specialising in built-to-rent, Zuccon worked in the bank’s structured finance unit. More recently she led work around the student housing, co-living and retirement sectors.

“In the current market, clients are increasingly looking for optionality around transactions and want combined real estate and financial solutions,” said Coates. “We now have our market-leading development and residential capital markets team working hand in hand with corporate finance experts.”

Coates joined CBRE Capital Advisors to lead the debt and structured finance division in the EMEA region after a decade leading the real estate finance business at RBS.