The firm has promoted Thorsten Slytå to the new position, which was established in response to growing demand for more direct investment.
Bart Price, the sovereign wealth fund's head of growth markets real assets, will join as chief executive of the platform by early next year, PERE understands.
The appointment comes as the firm plans to more than double its assets under management to $100bn including third-party capital.
The UK manager aims to bring all of its real estate equity and debt strategies into Spain and elsewhere in Europe over the next three years.
The once-overlooked category was back in the spotlight at the PERE Network’s America Forum last week
Prior to Milan Khatri’s appointment, the firm hired BlackRock’s former head of Asia real estate to run its overall investment business.
The fund has $350m in the pipeline across 10 US markets.
The right sector exposure is important for buyers, but sellers will be predominantly those looking to scale up with larger firms, writes Berkshire Global Advisors' Drew Murphy.
The US firm's real estate credit business has previously focused on the US, Europe and Australia.
The UK asset manager has acquired a majority stake in BauMont Real Estate Capital to diversify into higher-returning real estate.