Hospitality Group Expands with New Team in Germany

• Leading hotel investment adviser, Stefan Giesemann, joins as Partner & Head of Hospitality Germany & Austria
• Josef Filser and Christian Kirchhoff join as Associate Directors
• Nora Bruskowski joins as a Senior Consultant

Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA Hospitality team continues its strategic expansion across Europe into Germany, with the recruitment of an experienced team of four from JLL, led by Stefan Giesemann, who will be based in Munich. 

Giesemann joins as a Partner and Head of Hospitality within the regional service line, reporting to Jonathan Hubbard, Head of Hospitality EMEA. He joins from JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality team in Munich, where for the past eight years he has led a highly successful and market leading team focused on hospitality investment transactions.

Colleagues Josef Filser and Christian Kirchhoff have also joined Cushman & Wakefield as Associate Directors. Filser has been with JLL for eight years, initially based in London before relocating to Munich five years ago and has worked closely with Giesemann on transactions. Kirchhoff joined the Munich team almost five years ago from EY and will head operator selection, contract negotiations and strategic hotel advisory. Nora Bruskowski completes the new team as Senior Consultant.

Together, they will focus on building a full service offering at Cushman & Wakefield in the German, Austrian and Swiss (DACH) markets for hotels, hostels and extended stay accommodation. This will include capital markets, buy-side advice, debt, strategic advisory as well as development and operator selection. They will work closely with the existing established Hospitality valuation team at Cushman & Wakefield Germany, led by Christine Mayer in Frankfurt.

Jonathan Hubbard, Head of EMEA Hospitality, Cushman & Wakefield, said: “The German hotel market has been one of the most dynamic in Europe over recent years and we are seeing continued strong investor and operator demand.  I am delighted we have been able to bring on board such an established, experienced and respected team which has worked on several of Germany’s largest and most prestigious deals and operator selections in the recent past. 

“These appointments complete our full-service hospitality offer in Germany and, working with our existing hospitality valuation team, allows us to fully service our clients in the region. Stefan’s transactional experience and expertise will help to rapidly drive our growth in this specialist market and will greatly add to the service we can provide our clients.”

Stefan Giesemann, Head of Hospitality Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We are really excited to be joining Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality team as it strengthens its reach across Europe. The region continues to offer significant opportunities for the growth and development in the hospitality sector. Our extensive experience and networks in combination with Cushman & Wakefield’s global reach and local teams in Germany will allow us to find the best possible solutions for our clients and achieve maximum results.”
 
Yvo Postleb, Head of Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Mixed-use concepts in the German hotel market are becoming increasingly relevant. There are various reasons for this development such as the economy, space efficiency, urban planning aspects and the conversion of problematic properties, among other things. Stefan Giesemann and his team have the in-depth know-how in the mixed-use area to give our customers the very best advice.”

This follows on from Cushman & Wakefield’s recruitment of Partner, Katell Bourgeois, to head Cushman & Wakefield’s hospitality team in France in January 2019 and the recruitment of Albert Grau and Bruno Halle in March 2019 to lead the hospitality team in Spain.  The expansion in France, Spain and Germany is the latest step since Jonathan Hubbard joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2017 as Head of EMEA Hospitality with a remit to significantly grow its EMEA hospitality practice. Since then, Hubbard has made several senior hires to expand the firm’s capabilities, including four new Hospitality Partners in London, Frankfurt and Prague.