Meyer Bergman has appointed Kardun as CIO, as part of its plans to expand its mixed-use portfolio in core European cities, the company said. At Meyer Bergman, it is expected Kardun will focus upon the office, residential and leisure sectors. He will work with CEO Marcus Meijer to expand the company’s European footprint as it looks to capitalise on the urbanisation mega-trend.

Over the course of two decades in real estate, Kardun was CEO of Multi Corp from 2017 until November 2019, after being appointed to its management board by the company’s owner, Blackstone. He played a role in growing the retail-led firm into the US-based giant’s largest European operating platform, with more than €10 bn AUM across 14 countries.

Welcoming Kardun to the new role, Meijer said: ‘Internal migration and urbanisation are key growth drivers we are seeing across all core European cities and this is supporting growth across an array of real estate asset classes. By focusing on the most resilient and highly liquid markets, and concentrating our investments on select, high-footfall micro locations, we see huge potential to create value from these trends.’

‘Josip brings with him vast experience from the listed real estate and global investment spheres that will play a key role in our expansion. His expertise in finance-raising and his knowledge of capital structures, governance and his broad, multi-asset experience will be a huge value-add for all our current and future investors.’

Meyer Bergman’s assets include Borough Yards in London, the former Paris headquarters of web giant, Yahoo, and the Corti Segrete mixed-use residential and retail project in Corso Buenos Aires, Milan.

Kardun said: ‘This is an incredible time to be joining Meyer Bergman. With a track record of having managed over €7.5 bn of assets, the company has been expanding its reach into office and residential markets over the years. Its vertically integrated platform offers exceptional opportunities to identify attractive off-market investments across core European locations and generate value for its investors.’

Prior to joining Multi, Kardun was from 2014 CEO of shopping centre operator, Atrium European Real Estate – which is owned by Israel-based Gazit Globe. He also spent seven years German real estate group ECE, and was a general manager at shopping centre developer, Sonae Sierra.