Downing has made a key hire from M&G, appointing Richard Booth to serve as a fund manager for its newly-established capital solutions team.
Following the addition of the 20-year veteran, the team will launch a series of new investment activities and funds as well as manage capital on behalf of institutional investors.
In his new role, Booth will work alongside Paul Taylor, head of Downing Capital Solutions, and Nick Burley, who serves as an investor for Downing.
Booth is currently a director and fund manager at M&G, working in its fixed income business. He has been with the firm since 2012.
At M&G, he helped create a real estate opportunity platform in Dublin. This platform attracted over €1 billion on institutional capital and invested in complex residential and commercial projects.
Prior to joining M&G, Booth served as a senior manager for KPMG for a decade.
Taylor said: “[Booth’s] expertise in strategy and investment will further strengthen our capabilities to identify and manage attractive investment opportunities on behalf of institutional investors.”
The capital solutions team plans to invest funds from institutional investors into sectors with high return potential, such as healthcare services in the private equity space and European real estate.
The team’s investments in healthcare services and real estate follows the firm’s appointment of Nigel Pitchford as head of healthcare ventures.
He was appointed in June 2022 to further develop its healthcare platform while expanding retail funds, joining from Ieso Digital Health where he was CEO.
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