EUROPE- Threadneedle investments has unveiled a plan to open two new sales offices and to expand its German office in a bid to boost its retail business in Europe. In 1998 it launched a UK-domiciled fund range in Europe with an initial focus on Germany, Austria, Belgium and Holland.

Threadneedle says success in Germany and Austria means it now has to expand its Frankfurt office. As part of this it is moving the German marketing team from London and hiring local managers.

Mattias Glas, Threadneedle’s German sales director, will be responsible for this operation and has been promoted to head of German speaking markets. Denis Tumbult, Threadneedle’s German marketing manager currently based in London, is promoted to marketing director and will build up the team in Frankfurt.

It has also registered its funds in France and an application to Switzerland is already underway at the relevant regulatory authorities. It says it will open sales offices in both Paris and Geneva in the next few months and will appoint sales managers for both France and Switzerland, both of whom will report to Christian Pellis, sales director for Europe.

Richard Eats, Threadneedle’s communications director, will retain the marketing responsibility.

Head of distribution David Sachon says: “we believe that the time is right for us to grow our brand share in Europe…we believe that fund sales will start to pick up in the second half of next year and so we need to get busy now.

“We have achieved great economies of scale by operating in a range of countries and sectors- both retail and institutional- from a single base in the UK. therefore the marginal costs of entering a new market will therefore be relatively small and the opportunities look very substantial.”



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