Wells Fargo Establishes Commercial Real Estate Office in London

The top commercial real estate lender in the United States, ""Wells Fargo & Company,"":https://www.wellsfargo.com/ recently announced plans to carry its commercial real estate division overseas to the United Kingdom to fill what the company says is a gap in the U.K. market.

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A new team in London will serve both United Kingdom-based clients and current U.S.-based clients with operations in the U.K.

""With the current void in capital providers in the U.K. commercial real estate market, we see a tremendous opportunity to support our clients doing business in the [COLUMN_BREAK]

U.K. and to expand the delivery of these services to both U.S. and U.K.-based real estate companies,"" said Chip Fedalen, head of the Commercial Real Estate Institutional and Metro Markets Group at Wells Fargo.

The London team will offer various debt products, hospitality financings, portfolio acquisitions and financings, and will assist customers with its experience in real estate investment trusts. Eastdil Secured, owned by Wells Fargo, will also offer ""a full range of asset sale, debt placement and advisory services"" in the U.K., according to Wells Fargo.

Mike Marino, former head of the Commercial Real Estate Institutional Metro Markets Group in southern California, will lead the London group beginning early next month.

He will be joined by Robert Maddox and Cullen Powell, who will head client development, underwriting, and loan production teams.

Jimmy Gray, former head of the U.K. Commercial Real Estate division, will remain in London as the office's senior credit officer.

""With the addition of these three seasoned senior leaders in London, we are well positioned for growth and anticipate an increase in lending volume in the U.K. this year,"" Fedalen said.