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Aviva Investors adds to real estate investment team - Institutional Real Estate, Inc.

Reported by Irei
Sep 2, 2026· 2 min read
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Key Takeaways
  • • Aviva Investors has expanded its real estate equity investment team with multiple new hires, including Hannah Butler as Assistant Fund Manager and Rory Spriggs as Investment Manager, signaling strategic growth in the division.
  • • The firm manages over €48.5 billion in real assets across Europe, with €25.9 billion allocated to real estate, positioning it as one of Europe's largest private assets managers with 50 years of operational history.
  • • Aviva Investors' real estate strategy focuses on value creation through active asset management, thematic investment conviction, and ESG integration across UK and European markets with over 165 investment professionals.
  • • The team targets alpha generation by exploiting inefficiencies in the illiquidity-premium real estate market through asset repositioning, development initiatives, and disciplined lifecycle management.
  • • Recent activity includes a £250 million commercial property investment in Cambridge in partnership with PSP Investments, demonstrating continued capital deployment in core institutional real estate opportunities.
Summary
Aviva Investors has strengthened its real estate equity team through strategic personnel additions, reflecting the firm's commitment to expanding institutional investment capabilities in the European private real estate market. The appointments of Hannah Butler as Assistant Fund Manager and Rory Spriggs as Investment Manager underscore the firm's growth trajectory within its real estate division, which represents a core component of its broader private assets platform.

As one of Europe's largest managers of private assets, Aviva Investors manages in excess of €48.5 billion in real assets, with €25.9 billion specifically allocated to real estate strategies. The firm brings 50 years of accumulated expertise to the sector, supported by a team of over 165 investment professionals capable of delivering both private and public market solutions across multiple real estate segments. Daniel McHugh serves as Managing Director of Real Estate within the organization, providing senior leadership for the division.

Aviva Investors' real estate equity approach emphasizes value creation through active management, leveraging research-led thematic analysis and deep local market understanding across the UK and European markets. The strategy targets alpha generation by identifying inefficiencies inherent to the cyclical real estate asset class and commanding illiquidity premiums typical of private market transactions. Value creation mechanisms include asset repositioning, development initiatives, and rigorous lifecycle management designed to enhance investor returns across differing risk profiles.

The firm's real estate product suite accommodates diverse institutional investor objectives, offering tailored solutions as standalone thematic opportunities or integrated components of broader multi-asset mandates. ESG integration remains embedded in the investment decision-making process, reflecting institutional investor demand for sustainability risk assessment. Recent deployment activity includes a £250 million commercial property investment in Cambridge executed in partnership with PSP Investments, demonstrating continued institutional capital allocation to core real estate opportunities in strategically important geographies.

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Irei Aviva Investors adds to real estate investment team - Institutional Real Estate, Inc.