W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a leading net lease REIT specializing in corporate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suits and the acquisition of single-tenant net lease properties, announces the promotion of Christopher Mertlitz to Managing Director, Head of European Investments, effective immediately. In this role, Mr. Mertlitz will oversee W. P. Carey’s European investment activity including the sourcing, underwriting, negotiating and structuring of all European transactions.
“We are thrilled to name Chris as Head of European Investments. Since joining the firm in 2011, he has been critical to the continued growth of our European business and has consistently demonstrated his ability to execute on complex transactions across a multitude of sectors and geographies. His diverse expertise and leadership skills made him the right choice for this position. I am confident that with Chris at the helm, we are well-positioned to continue expanding our European portfolio of net lease corporate real estate,” said Jason Fox, Chief Executive Officer, W. P. Carey.
W. P. Carey has been investing in Europe since 1998 and has undergone significant expansion over the past two decades with on-the-ground teams in both London and Amsterdam. Since then, the firm has completed European investments totaling $8.6 billion (€7.1 billion) and has grown its European real estate to over 35% of its global portfolio. Mr. Mertlitz has been integral to this growth having helped lead more than $2.2 billion (€1.8 billion) of investments, most recently with the $102 million (€87 million) sale-leaseback of a 27-property supermarket portfolio in Northern Spain and the Balearic Islands with Eroski Sociedad Cooperativa, one of the largest food retailers in Spain.
“I’m honored to lead our European investment efforts and continue working alongside my colleagues here in London, as well as our U.S. transaction team, on multi-jurisdictional investments that will grow our portfolio with high-quality, mission-critical assets. Together, we will continue to help companies unlock the value of their real estate assets and redeploy the capital into their core businesses through sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions,” said Christopher Mertlitz, Head of European Investments, W. P. Carey.
Prior to joining W. P. Carey, Mr. Mertlitz worked in a number of sectors including engineering, energy and information technology in Austria and Germany. Mr. Mertlitz graduated summa cum laude from Oxford University with an M.Eng. in Engineering, Economics and Management where he was also a scholar. He is fluent in German.
W. P. Carey Inc.
W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with an enterprise value of approximately $18 billion and a diversified portfolio of operationally-critical commercial real estate that includes 1,215 net lease properties covering approximately 142 million square feet as of September 30, 2020. For nearly five decades, the company has invested in high-quality single-tenant industrial, warehouse, office, retail and self-storage properties subject to long-term net leases with built-in rent escalators. Its portfolio is located primarily in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe and is well-diversified by tenant, property type, geographic location and tenant industry.
