Like the chicken and the egg, it’s hard to know which came first — the unprecedented demand for real estate funds or the unprecedented supply of real estate funds. No matter which came first, however, during the past few years Europe has seen an exponential growth in the real estate marketplace, with both capital and places to put that capital expanding at a record pace.

For a long time now, Russia has been subject to somewhat conflicting assessments by real estate investors. While some foresaw great opportunities for the country and its real estate market and began to sound the market out early on, others were rather more sceptical and chose a reticent approach. Meanwhile, the country has come to play an ever greater role as an investment market for both domestic and foreign investors.

American Marc Mogulldescribes his company, Benson Elliot Capital Management, as a mid-market private equity real estate company with a contrarian outlook on market opportunities. Mogull — a seasoned campaigner with a pedigree honed at JMB Realty in Chicago, Goldman Sachs, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD) and Doughty Hanson, among others, has spent the better part of two decades in the United Kingdom. Having set up Doughty Hanson Real Estate in the 1990s, he created Benson Elliot in 2005 to continue investing in European opportunities across the real estate spectrum.

Freelance journalist Mark Faithfull met Mogull at the firm’s Knightsbridge offices in London to hear his investment philosophy, his belief in remaining focused on one’s strengths and his view that Europe offers more than enough to keep him busy.