LaSalle Investment Management has received approval from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for the formation of a capital investment company for specialist investment funds in Germany. Following the granting of the licence, the already existing LaSalle Vermögensverwaltungs will henceforth operate as LaSalle Investment Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (LaSalle KAG).

The company is 100% owned by LaSalle GmbH and based in Munich, Germany. LaSalle KAG will look to launch specialist investment funds in accordance with the German investment act targeting institutional investors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In addition, the company will be able to offer specialist investment services, for example for foreign investors.

Claus Thomas, Managing Director of LaSalle GmbH and one of the three members of the Supervisory Board of LaSalle KAG, said: 'LaSalle KAG represents a sustained commitment to the German market with regard to both real estate and investors. Moreover, in addition to offering access to funds this KAG enables us to also provide an outsourcing vehicle for individual funds - a business branch in which LaSalle has been a leader for many years in other countries like the UK or the US.

LaSalle Investment Management, Inc., a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle group, is a leading global real estate investment manager, with approximately $39 bn (EUR 29.2 bn) of assets under management of private and public property equity investments. LaSalle is active across a range of real estate capital and operating markets including private and public, debt and equity.