EQT recruits from Clearbell for chief financial officer role

Clearbell’s director responsible for debt structuring, Nisha Raghavan, has left to join expanding European private equity firm EQT.

At Clearbell, the UK opportunistic investment manager headed by Manish Chande, Raghavan reported to partner and chief financial officer Sally Doyle-Linden.

Over the last 18 months, the pair have been financing assets acquired for Clearbell Property Partners II, a £400 million vehicle which is almost fully invested.

Raghavan will be EQT Real Estate’s first chief financial officer.

EQT launched an expansion into real estate for the first time last year, recruiting Edouard Fernandez and Rob Rackind from Wainbridge and former Credit Suisse fund raiser Fredrick Elwing to set up the business.

Swedish-based EQT Partners was set up 21 years ago by AB and SEB and has since raised more than €22 billion of equity for global investments from over 300 institutions and professional investors. The new EQT Real Estate division is expected to have substantial capital to invest in the European property sector.

In addition to Raghavan, EQT Real Estate has lured Olivier Astruc from AXA IM Real Assets to be head of French acquisitions and Sofia Watt from Pramerica to create the role of director of asset management for the Nordics.

Along with Thomas Tynan’s appointment from LNR Partners as an associate and three hires last October including Jonathan Hardie and Sam Childerstone from Wainbridge, EQT Real Estate is now 13-strong.

Fernandez and Rackind split from private equity real estate advisory firm Wainbridge after building the business into a leading UK value-add specialist firm.