Michael Morgenroth, currently responsible for real estate and infrastructure within the asset management arm of Gothaer, is to join the management board of Austrian real estate investor, Signa Group in March 2012.

In a statement, Signa said Morgenroth and a ‘significant part of his team from Gothaer’ will initially lead a drive into debt investments for Signa.

In addition to the launch of real estate debt funds from the new Dusseldorf-based business, Signa Real Estate Advisory AG, Morgenroth will be responsible for institutional clients and the German market, including the established real estate funds business.

Morgenroth is taking with him Patrick Züchner (currently head of real estate), Lars Armgart and Antje Bonnewitz. This is a team that has concluded 11 mezzanine debt transactions with a value of around EUR 200 mln since 2005, Signa said.

The Signa Group, founded by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko 12 years ago, is Austria’s largest privately held real estate company and one of the leading players in Europe with a real estate portfolio of over EUR 4 bn.