by Elizabeth Harrin (London)

It’s not unusual for Trish Barrigan to split her week between European capitals. She grew up in France, speaks fluent French, studied at Boston College and when she is in the UK, she works out of Benson Elliot’s London headquarters in the swanky Knightsbridge district, where the team is made up of nine nationalities, speaking nine different languages.

“Many people think it sounds glamorous to be in Paris for 2 days and then Helsinki for 2 days, but the reality is that the more you are out of the office, the more the work piles up on your desk,” she says.

Trish Barrigan is the Senior Partner of Benson Elliot Capital Management LLP, a leading pan-European private equity real estate firm with more than €1 billion of assets under management. She has worked there since 2006 and sits on the Investment and Executive Committees, so the piles of work on her desk can be significant.

Private equity real estate is a sub-sector of the better known private equity industry. However, it’s still a huge sector with a global reach, attracting billions of dollars of investment. In 2008, around $115 billion of equity alone was raised for investment in private equity real estate across the globe, and about $25 billion of that was raised just for Europe.

“The world of real estate and private equity investing has changed dramatically in recent years,” Trish says. “Investors are no longer simply looking to just invest in real estate assets directly, nor do they plan just to acquire exposure to the asset class indirectly via the public markets. A growing number of investors are being attracted to private equity real estate, which is what makes it exciting.”

In Trish’s role, no two days are the same. “I get to interact with a myriad of different people all the time on a number of tasks from negotiating with banks to arranging long term joint ventures with potential operating partners,” she explains.

The variety makes it a good career choice if you are good at multi-tasking. “You are constantly being called upon to look at new transactions while managing your existing investments,” Trish says. “The key to success is not just in the ability to buy and sell shrewdly, but also in the value you are able to create through active management throughout your ownership.”

You also need a good head for figures – quantitative skills being the top of Trish’s list of key attributes for making a success of a career in private equity real estate. “You need to understand how the numbers work and, ultimately, how you will make money for your investors and firm,” she says. “Any candidate that can demonstrate their interest in a field and articulate their ambitions, and also show dedication to achieving those goals, deserves to succeed.” Trish also believes that vision and commitment are traits that the successful professional needs, along with the ability to communicate. “You also need to have strong interpersonal skills and conviction, as you deal with so many different people and have to have the drive and focus to see through your investment management strategies.”

And that’s where the travel comes in. Real estate investment is a tangible business: at the end of the day Trish is buying, selling and managing physical assets and it’s hard to do that without knowing what they are really like. Being on the road – or in a plane – does mean a lot of time away from home.

“Work/life balance becomes very important,” she says, “and the only way to achieve it is through extreme organization and making the most of every opportunity that comes your way. It is not easy, but I have learnt that by being organised, you can find time for family, fitness, culture or whatever else helps you to remain sane and a well-rounded human being.”

Private equity real estate, like many areas of finance, is not an industry that has many high profile women, but that is slowly changing. Trish was awarded recently with a Women in the City award for her work in alternative investment.

While there might not be many women visible in the industry at the moment, Trish believes that women make a significant contribution to the investment scene. “These awards celebrate the often unrecognised, but extremely important, contribution that women make to London’s investment community,” Trish says. “An increasing number of influential positions are occupied by inspirational women, demonstrating our capabilities and the value that we bring to the workplace.”

One of the great things about the real estate side of private equity is that it is moving so quickly – and opinions are moving along with that. “Attitudes are changing fast,” Trish says, “and with the encouragement of employers and other senior figures, both male and female, I see no reason why more women should not continue to succeed in the sector.”

Trish is doing her own bit to encourage women in, and into, private equity careers. Teresa Sayers, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Skills Council called Trish a “trailblazing visionary” although Trish says she has never thought of herself in that way. “By increasing my visibility in my sector,” she says, “through groups such as Women in Real Estate, a professional association aligned to the Urban Land Institute that promotes women my industry, and by spending time mentoring and developing my own staff as well as other women who come to me for advice, I think that I can demonstrate to them that they can achieve what I have and more.”