Bridging the Gap: Commercial Real Estate Intellegence

How is one of the world's largest insurance and asset management firms positioning itself for growth across private markets, retirement solutions, and global partnerships? Welcome back to Scaling Capital: Commercial Real Estate Intelligence, presented by Accrete Advisors. This week, host Jennifer Robertson sits down with Gareth Mee, Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General's Institutional Retirement Business, to discuss the company's strategic evolution, global expansion efforts, and long-term vision for growth. With nearly 200 years of history, Legal & General has grown into a leading insurance, retirement, and asset management platform with over £1.2 trillion in assets under management. Gareth shares his journey from EY Partner to CEO, provides insight into Legal & General's transformation under CEO Antonio Simões, and discusses how the firm is leveraging private markets, pension risk transfer, and strategic partnerships to drive future growth. In this episode, we cover: Legal & General's history, scale, and business structure across asset management, retirement, and insurance Gareth's career journey from EY Partner to CEO of Institutional Retirement Antonio Simões' strategic vision and focus on capital allocation discipline Legal & General's growth plans across private markets and asset management Expansion in the U.S. through strategic partnerships and pension risk transfer The Meiji Yasuda partnership and plans to grow U.S. retirement solutions Why scale, collaboration, and long-term partnerships are central to L&G's strategy If you're interested in how global insurance companies, retirement platforms, and institutional investors are positioning themselves for long-term growth, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Guest Bio: Gareth Mee is the Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General's Institutional Retirement Business, which insures pension schemes and pensioners across the UK, U.S., and Canada. Prior to becoming CEO, Gareth served as CFO of Legal & General Capital, CIO of Private Markets and Asset Management, and CIO of Institutional Retirement, overseeing a portfolio of approximately £94 billion. Before joining Legal & General, Gareth spent nearly 20 years at EY, where he was a Partner leading global investment advisory, UK actuarial, and sustainable finance consulting practices. He holds a First-Class Honors degree in Mathematics from University College London and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Connect with Gareth on LinkedIn Follow Jennifer and Accrete Advisors on LinkedIn, visit our website, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the trends shaping the future of CRE. Join us next week for Part Two with Gareth, where we dive deeper into Legal & General's pension risk transfer platform, investment strategy, and global retirement market opportunities.

In Part 1 of this two-part episode of Scaling Capital, Jennifer Robertson speaks with Katarina Hapsari, Founder and Managing Partner of Aureum International Assets. She discusses leading the development of one of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious mixed-use projects, PIK, a massive, world-class, multi-billion-dollar, waterfront city development near Jakarta, designated as a National Strategic Project.Katarina shares insights about managing and coordinating the development of a 6,000-hectare (14,000-acre), multi-billion-dollar community, designed as a true live-work-play environment. Together, they explore public-private partnerships, large-scale urban planning, integrated infrastructure, and the resulting social and economic benefits. A compelling conversation on leadership, placemaking, and executing real estate at the city scale.*Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.

In this episode, Jennifer Robertson sits down with Laura Rapaport, Founder & CEO of North Bridge, to demystify CPACE and its evolving role in today’s real estate capital stack. Laura explains what CPACE is, how it works, and why it should be viewed as an integral part of a commercial property capitalization — not just green financing. They explore how CPACE can be used across asset classes for new construction, value-add renovations, acquisitions, refinancings, and bridge capital. The conversation covers lookback financing, delayed draws, and how CPACE can lower the cost of capital, reduce recourse, and improve project viability. Learn more about North Bridge:https://www.northbridgeops.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/northbridgeesg/ *Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.

In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Richard Barkham, former Global Chief Economist at CBRE, for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the global and U.S. economies heading into 2026. Fresh off the ANREV Conference in Singapore, Richard shares insights on investor sentiment across Asia and how regional trends connect to global capital flows.The conversation dives deep into the U.S. outlook—covering the surprising resilience of 2025, the ripple effects of tariffs, the role of AI-driven growth, and the potential risks tied to fiscal policy and market corrections.From manufacturing shifts and consumer strength to Fed strategy and long-term interest rate expectations, this episode offers a grounded yet forward-looking view of what may shape real estate and the broader economy in the year ahead.Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.