M7 targets Spanish growth with appointment of Hugh Fraser as new country head

M7 Real Estate (“M7”), the pan-European investor and asset manager, announces the appointment of Hugh Fraser, one of the firm’s founders as the new Head of Spain, in order to drive growth in a key market for the business.

M7, which has a network of 10 offices across Europe, has strong ambitions to expand its activities in Spain, in order to take advantage of the current point in the market cycle and drive value for its investors and capital partners. Hugh will be responsible for driving that growth including building out M7’s team in the region, as well as overseeing the firm’s acquisition and asset management strategies across Spain. Belén Hernández Orduña, has also been promoted to the role of Head of Asset Management, Spain.

M7 is seeking investments in the industrial and logistics sectors where it has been a market leading specialist investor across Europe for over 15 years. Hugh has over 30 years’ experience in real estate investment and finance and will also remain in his current role as M7’s Head of Capital Markets where he is responsible for the firm’s debt capital markets business. Since co-founding M7 in 2009, Hugh has helped close over €6.50 billion of financings in nine different countries across Europe, including Spain.

Hugh has a Bachelor of Science in Land Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (Spanish Major) from the University of Technology, Sydney and spent a year at the Universidad de Salamanca as part of his studies.

Hugh has moved to Madrid from his previous base in Amsterdam, succeeding Álvaro Arteaga Biforcos, who stepped down from M7 at the end of October 2024 to establish his own private family investment management company.

M7 manages a c. €85.0 million portfolio located in Spain, comprising c. 90,000 sq m across seven assets in the highly sought after markets of Barcelona and Bilbao.

David Ebbrell, CEO of M7 Real Estate, commented: “We have identified Spain as a key market for growth and have a strong appetite amongst our clients to invest capital there, particularly at the current time in the market cycle. The appointment of Hugh, one of M7’s founders and a member of our senior management team, as the new Head of Spain underscores the strength of our ambitions in this market. He will provide senior strategic resource on key transactions as we continue to source investment opportunities in the industrial sector on behalf of our capital partners, while also looking to build out our Spanish team.” Alvaro opened the M7 Spain office in May 2020 (height of COVID19) and has done an amazing job in establishing M7 in the Spanish market. I would like to thank Alvaro for all his efforts during this period and I wish him every success for his future endeavours.

Hugh Fraser, Head of Spain at M7 Real Estate, commented: “The Spanish real estate market has strong underlying fundamentals and we will be seeking opportunities to invest in industrial and logistics assets, building on our existing portfolio. I am very much looking forward to working with and expanding our team in Madrid, and also living in Spain once again, having studied here while at university.”