Patrick Saade Joins Walker & Dunlop as Co-Head of Hospitality Advisory in London

LONDON — Walker & Dunlop has appointed Patrick Saade as senior managing director, Capital Markets, and co-head of Hospitality Advisory, the firm announced Sept. 14. Based in London, Saade will advise owners and investors on acquisitions, dispositions and capital strategies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, working alongside Jay Morrow, who serves as co-head of Hospitality Advisory.

Expanding Walker & Dunlop's Hospitality and EMEA Platform

Saade brings more than 16 years of real estate experience to the role, having advised on more than $15 billion of hospitality transactions throughout Europe and globally. Together with Morrow and the firm's debt advisory professionals, Saade is expected to drive growth of Walker & Dunlop's hospitality practice by providing owners and investors with investment sales, debt, equity and capital advisory solutions across EMEA and the United States.

"Hospitality is an increasingly important part of our capital markets business, and our clients seek advisors who can connect opportunities with capital across markets and geographies," said Kris Mikkelsen, executive vice president and co-head of Capital Markets at Walker & Dunlop. "Pat brings exceptional hospitality expertise and global relationships that strengthen our ability to serve those clients. This expansion reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in senior talent with deep market expertise who can help execute sophisticated investment strategies."

The appointment adds to a growing London-based capital markets team that already includes Claudio Sgobba, senior managing director and co-head of EMEA Debt, Equity and Structured Finance. Sgobba framed the hire as part of a deliberate platform-building effort. "We are building a focused pure play capital markets platform around exceptional people and are attracting some of the market's best talent," he said. "Pat's arrival further strengthens our ability to advise across the full capital stack and deliver integrated solutions, particularly as demand for sophisticated, cross-border capital markets advice continues to grow."

EMEA Capital Markets Scope and Deal Activity

Walker & Dunlop's EMEA Capital Markets platform provides debt advisory, equity advisory and investment sales services across the United Kingdom and continental Europe. The team advises institutional investors on transactions spanning multifamily, student housing, data centers, office, industrial and hospitality assets, with deal sizes ranging from $20 million to $1 billion. The platform leverages the firm's U.S. capital relationships to deliver cross-border solutions to clients in both Europe and the United States.

Saade's mandate will center on connecting global capital with hotel investment opportunities across EMEA, with cross-border mandates coordinated alongside Morrow and the broader Walker & Dunlop capital markets team in the United States.

Market Backdrop: European Hotel Investment Accelerates

The hire comes as European hotel fundamentals and investment volumes have strengthened considerably. European RevPAR reached approximately €107 in 2025, up roughly 2% year-over-year, driven by gains in both average daily rate and occupancy. By the first quarter of 2026, European RevPAR was running about 3.4% ahead of the same period in 2025, with occupancy at approximately 62% and continuing to improve.

Performance has been particularly strong in gateway cities. London hotels achieved record monthly metrics in July 2025, with average daily rate of £234.58, RevPAR of £207.93 and occupancy of 88.6%. In England overall, hotel occupancy averaged approximately 79% across 2025. Paris luxury properties posted similarly robust figures, with June ADR reaching €514, RevPAR of €444 and occupancy of 86.3%.

Upscale and luxury hotels have led transaction activity, accounting for roughly 49.4% of all European hotel transactions and more than 52% of total invested volume. That segment posted RevPAR growth of approximately 4.9%, outpacing economy and budget categories.

On the capital flows side, European hotel investment totaled approximately €20.1 billion in 2025, about 12% above the five-year average, with hotels representing roughly 11.4% of total commercial real estate investment — well above the five-year average of 7.7%. Separate market data put the 2025 European hotel investment figure above €27 billion, approximately 23% ahead of the prior year and 28% above the 10-year average. Hotels' share of rolling commercial real estate investment remained at approximately 11.4% into the first quarter of 2026.

Strategic Significance for Walker & Dunlop

The Saade appointment reflects Walker & Dunlop's stated strategy of building out its EMEA platform through senior hires with established institutional relationships. The firm has positioned London as the hub of its European capital markets operations, and the addition of dedicated hospitality leadership signals that the sector is being treated as a core vertical within that platform.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States and internationally. Its EMEA operations are conducted through W&D UK Investment Sales Pvt Ltd, an appointed representative of Langham Hall Fund Management LLP, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Sources

Walker & Dunlop — Grows Hospitality and European Capital Markets Platform (Sept. 14, 2026)