(Source: Business Wire)Prudential Real Estate Investors has hired a team of real estate professionals to expand its commercial real estate platform in the U.K. and introduce a series of U.K .property funds. The team includes Charles Crowe, Paul Dennis-Jones and Andrew Grigson, part of the core group that managed the U.K. funds sponsored by UBS Global Asset Management. PREI® is the real estate investment and advisory business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

The team joins the company's real estate fund management operations, whose European fund management operations are headquartered in London and Munich.

Dennis-Jones, hired as a director, will serve as senior portfolio manager for the new dedicated U.K. strategy, with Crowe, also a director, leading transactions. Grigson, joins as a vice president to serve as marketing director who will oversee investor relations. The team will manage transactions for PREI's existing commingled funds and look to create new funds for U.K. institutional investors, including pension funds, charities, insurance companies and others.

Robert Falzon, PREI's CEO of Europe, said, "It is with great pleasure that I welcome Charles, Paul and Andrew to the company. Each bring considerable experience and expertise with them, and will be an invaluable addition to our team as we establish a firmer footing in the U.K. While we have already been in the U.K .for 20 years, the sheer size of the market, along with our investors' increased interest, merit PREI continuing to expand that commitment.

Falzon added, "With more than 45 years of combined real estate experience, providing transaction, financing, fund management, asset enhancement and management competencies, the new team offers us the chance to establish a dedicated and specialist U.K. fund management platform to provide real estate services and support to existing PREI funds, as well as the opportunity to create new commingled funds."

Before joining PREI, Dennis-Jones and Crowe worked together for eight years as senior members of UBS Global Asset Management's UK Real Estate business and were members of their U.K. Investment Committee.

Specifically, Dennis-Jones was portfolio manager for the UBS Triton Property Fund, which peaked in value at more than £2.6 billion, and was head of U.K. Asset Management, responsible for managing more than £3 billion of assets. He has more than 16 years of real estate industry experience, is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and a CFA Charterholder.