Nes Weigand, founder of Eastborough Partners, lectures in global private equity class in London Gateway Program

Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate Advisory Board member, Nes Weigand, guest lectured in Professor Michael O’Malley’s Global Private Equity class in late January. The course, FIRE’s first class taught to students studying abroad, focuses on practical aspects of private equity, particularly in the realm of real estate. With the objective to prepare students with applicable experience before entering the industry, students in the Global Private Equity course form simulated private equity firms during the semester. Each firm builds an investment and geographic strategy which they present to simulated limited partners, as well as choose an investment to underwrite and present to an investment committee. The class will welcome ten guest speakers to Notre Dame’s London Gateway campus from around the world during the spring semester.

Nes describes himself as an ‘accidental real estate entrepreneur’ and provided students with a very candid and transparent view into his decision in 2022 to establish Eastborough Partners in London, England. Throughout his lecture, Nes shared key decision points in his career, the reasons behind the choices he made, and lessons learned, good and bad, from those choices.

“Nes kicked off our guest lecture series incredibly well. He has the innovative ability to share insights from his career and make them relatable and valuable to our students. Nes welcomed students to ask the ‘hard questions’ about being an entrepreneur, and will host several students at his offices in London later this semester,” commented Professor Michael O’Malley.

“It was an honor to guest lecture to Mike’s class,” Weigand remarked. “I’m incredibly impressed by the intellectual and practical curiosity of the students, and love to see their passion for real estate and entrepreneurship.”

Since its establishment, Eastborough has raised a fund vehicle making investments across the US, UK, and Europe in various real estate asset classes.

Nes’s journey in the real estate investment industry spans nearly 25 years. Before founding Eastborough Partners, Nes played a pivotal role as one of the three founding members of the real estate investment team at Siguler Guff. During his 12-year tenure at Siguler Guff, Nes oversaw the deployment of $3 billion in equity across four dedicated funds and various other investment vehicles, relocating to London in 2014 to spearhead Siguler Guff’s European real estate investment program.

Before his time at Siguler Guff, Nes managed a large portfolio in private equity real estate interests for Citigroup’s corporate pension plan and its private real estate division, CPI. He began his career as an Analyst in the Consulting Group of CBRE (formerly Insignia/ESG) in New York during the late 1990s.

Nes earned a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame as well as an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is also an active member of the Notre Dame Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate’s Advisory Board, emphasizing his commitment to academic and professional collaboration.

In addition to Nes, students in the Global Private Equity course welcomed guest speakers from NW1 Partners, KSL Capital Partners, the Texas Permanent School Fund, Lazard, Deutsche Bank, DLA Piper, EQT Exeter, Evergreen, and Wynnchurch Capital.

Throughout the semester, students are tasked with implementing the knowledge and tactics gained from class lectures and guest speakers.

Originally posted on ND Real Estate News.