Avison Young forms capital markets team in Mexico

Fast-growing commercial real estate services firm creates debt and equity, investment sales advisory group in Mexico; Rafael Riveroll and Rene Maldonado become Principals

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Guillermo Sepulveda, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm's Mexico City office, announced today that the company has formed a new capital markets team in Mexico.

Effective immediately, six members, led by highly respected industry veterans Rafael Riveroll and Rene Maldonado, join Avison Young in Mexico City. Riveroll and Maldonado become Principals of the firm and will oversee the capital markets business in Mexico and the team's day-to-day operations. Together with Sepulveda and Avison Young Principal Emile Sarraf, Riveroll and Maldonado will develop advisory services for both debt and equity structures on behalf of clients and co-ordinate capital markets services involving mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, equity transactions, loans, and individual asset and portfolio sales. As Principals, they will also play leading roles in furthering the development of Avison Young's aggressive strategic growth strategy in Mexico.

Both Riveroll and Maldonado join Avison Young from Kapitales, a boutique capital markets consulting firm that they co-founded in 2010 after departing GICSA, one of Mexico's largest commercial real estate developers, where they were responsible for creating the company's equity and debt structures as well as managing relationships with investors. Riveroll brings more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience in Mexico to Avison Young, while Maldonado has worked in the industry for 18 years.

Also joining Avison Young from Kapitales are Vanessa Islas and Concepcion Diaz as Senior Associates, and Monica Munoz and Rafael Hubbe as Associates. The six new members will work with their new colleagues in Canada, the U.S. and Europe on facilitating cross-border investment transactions.

"We are very pleased to have Rafael and Rene lead our new capital markets team in Mexico," comments Sepulveda. "The six additions to our Avison Young family have worked together for several years and have established themselves as a leading capital markets team in a very short period of time. At Avison Young, these highly regarded real estate professionals will complement our existing service offerings as we serve local, national and international clients. We are certain that they will flourish rapidly under Avison Young's global brand; at the same time, the new team brings several long-term client and business relationships to Avison Young, allowing us to provide existing clients with other service lines."

Avison Young expanded into Mexico by opening an office in Mexico City in November 2015, when 11 new members, led by Sepulveda, joined the firm. Since then, the company has expanded strategically in Mexico City with plans to develop a full-service commercial real estate platform across the country.

"For our team, joining Avison Young represents an exciting opportunity to grow our careers and be part of a Principal-led commercial real estate services company," notes Riveroll. "We're ready to take our capital markets practice to the next level and serve more institutional investors through Avison Young's network of real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S. and Europe as well as Mexico."

"Our team recognized that, in order to remain competitive in today's rapidly changing commercial real estate marketplace, we had to align our practice with a global brand," adds Maldonado. "Avison Young's collaborative approach to every transaction is a perfect fit for us. Furthermore, Guillermo and Emile sought our advice on how to grow a strong capital markets base in Mexico, which we greatly appreciate. We could not have asked for a better opportunity."

In other appointments within the last few weeks at Avison Young in Mexico City, Roberto Quezada joined the firm as a Vice-President, specializing in office tenant representation; and Vanessa Fonseca became an Associate Director, specializing in office agency leasing services. Both joined Avison Young from Colliers International in Mexico City where Quezada and Fonseca served as director and assistant director, respectively.

Quezada, who brings more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, will be responsible for expanding Avison Young's office tenant representation services in Mexico City. In addition, he will train future young real estate recruits and play a key role in servicing the firm's growing corporate clientele in Mexico. Fonseca, who has 12 years of commercial real estate experience, will be responsible for overseeing the growing number of exclusive office landlord representation assignments (totaling more than 350,000 square feet of gross leasable area), which Avison Young has secured since December 2015.

"We are very excited that Roberto and Vanessa have decided to join our growing corporate office services team in Mexico City," adds Sepulveda. "I have known both Roberto and Vanessa for many years and have been positively impressed with their professional growth. We are certain that they will excel and prosper at Avison Young, and help us service our growing office clientele."

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Biographies

Rafael Riveroll
Rafael Riveroll brings to Avison Young more than 15 years of experience developing commercial real estate capital markets structures in Mexico, most recently as principal of Kapitales, a company that he co-founded. Prior to launching Kapitales, he spent nine years in senior executive positions with GICSA, a leading real estate company in Mexico. From 2001 to 2004, he served as Vice-President of financial planning; and in 2004, he was promoted to finance director and co-ordinated the debt-and-equity funding of more than US$1 billion of projects. In 2010, Riveroll co-founded Kapitales, a real estate advisory company specializing in debt-and-equity structures.

Riveroll holds a Master of economics degree from the University of Essex in England and a Bachelor's degree in economics from the National University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM). He is a member of the University of Essex alumni-relations committee and the Mexican Chevening Scholarship Alumni Network, an organization comprising Chevening scholarship recipients from Mexico. Chevening is the U.K. government's international awards program, which aims to develop global leaders. In addition to his university studies, Riveroll has completed courses in negotiation, valuation and real estate development offered by Stanford University, financial expert Thomas Copeland, and Mexico City's IPADE Business School.

Rene Maldonado
Rene Maldonado brings 18 years of real estate experience in Mexico to Avison Young. During his career, he has focused on legal matters affecting corporate, banking and capital markets matters. He joins Avison Young from Kapitales, a capital markets firm that he co-founded with Rafael Riveroll in 2010. Serving as a principal and the firm's legal director, he advised private corporations and other entities, such as equity-fund companies, on real estate acquisitions, corporate governance matters, joint-ventures and strategic alliances. He also has extensive experience in completing corporate finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, secured financing and syndicated lending, as well as in capital markets transactions on behalf of real estate developers, family funds and equity funds.

Prior to co-founding Kapitales, Maldonado provided legal counsel at GICSA for 10 years, where he was in charge of loan, equity and corporate-structure agreements. In this role, he was also responsible for designing and developing corporate structures for the purpose of obtaining debt-and-equity financing from such leading international banks and investors as Cargill, GE, Metlife, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Bancomer, Banamex and Santander. While with GICSA, he closed US$1.7 billion in debt transactions and US$180 million in equity transactions. During his tenure with GICSA, Maldonado helped the firm's portfolio grow from seven to 60 properties with a total investment value of US$2.4 billion. Maldonado holds a Bachelor of Science degree in law from Ibero-American University (Universidad Iberoamericana) in Mexico City.

Avison Young is the world's fastest growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its Principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,400 real estate professionals in 78 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations,
  Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959
  
  
• Guillermo Sepulveda, Principal and Managing Director, Mexico City, Avison Young:
  +52 155.4088.4166
  
  
• Rafael Riveroll, Principal, Avison Young: +52 155.2855.3357
  
  
• Rene Maldonado, Principal, Avison Young: +52 155.4447.9168
  
  
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

www.avisonyoung.com

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Please click on links to view and download photos of Rafael Riveroll and Rene Maldonado:
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Rafael%20Riveroll.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Rene%20Maldonado.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

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