Asset manager Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) has hired Florent Danset as senior managing director and co-head of European real estate.
Prior to joining HMC, Danset co-founded Alte, a boutique investment manager specialising in European value-add real estate, and before that he held senior investment roles at Blackstone and Partners Group.
Danset will serve as co-head of European real estate alongside senior managing director David King and will focus on capital formation and product development, while King will continue leading on divestment and asset management initiatives for the firm’s existing European real estate investments.
Travis Pritchett, president of Harbert Management Corporation, said: “Florent brings the strategic insight gained from his experience at global institutional asset managers, combined with an entrepreneurial mindset and a hands-on leadership style. European real estate remains a key pillar within our broader real assets platform. Our focus on creating value at the asset level, in markets and sectors supported by clear structural tailwinds, gives us the ability to perform consistently through all phases of the market cycle.”
Danset added: “It is a privilege to join a leading mid-market real estate investor with more than two decades of cycle-tested performance and deep local roots in Europe. HMC’s strong culture, reflected in the tenure and cohesion of its European leadership, was a major draw. Its differentiated, disciplined investment approach, within a global institutional platform, made the opportunity particularly compelling. I look forward to building on the team’s track record and contributing to the next phase of growth for HMC’s European real estate platform.”
King said: “We believe the current environment presents dislocation opportunities that will make this an exceptional vintage for our platform. The upcoming cycle plays directly to our strengths in granular market understanding, diligent asset selection, and active asset management. With Florent’s insight and experience complementing our existing capabilities, we will continue to apply the same disciplined approach to investing and value creation that defines HMC’s success.”
