Catalyst
Capital, the European real estate investment and asset management firm, today announces
the first close of Catalyst European Property Fund II (CEPF II), a €1.25
billion real estate fund.
At the
first close Catalyst raised equity commitments of €150 million from global institutional
investors.
The
investors are a mix of US and European pension funds, US endowments, funds of
funds, family offices and wealth management firms, including investors from
Catalyst’s first European real estate fund, Catalyst European Property Fund I
(CEPF I).
Almost half
of the initial commitments have already been deployed in three separate
transactions in the UK and Europe.
CEPF II
will invest in the office and retail sectors and, geographically, in the
countries in Europe where Catalyst has an established presence: the UK, France,
Belgium, Germany and Poland, where Catalyst believes there is the potential to
source attractive value-creation opportunities and capitalise on the market
dislocation between prime and secondary assets. It will target a diversified
portfolio of income-producing assets and development and refurbishment
opportunities.
CEPF II
continues the value-add strategy Catalyst has successfully executed for 19 years
and in CEPF I, which was fully invested in 2012 and has over the past year
divested more than 50% of its portfolio after successful asset management execution
and repositioning of assets to institutional status. Disposals include the Les Atelier
du Parc office building in Paris to Deka Immobilien for €155 million and the office
block at 30-38 New Bridge Street in the City of London to the Corporation of
London for €32.45 million.
Julian
Newiss, founding partner of Catalyst, commented: “We are appreciative of the
support shown by investors towards our strategy.
“We believe
the current environment provides an excellent opportunity to generate strong
returns. The
volume of European distressed property loan sales coming onto the market has
never been higher and is set to continue as a result of the European Central
Bank’s Asset Quality Review.
“These assets will
benefit from Catalyst’s in-house asset management skills and understanding of
local markets to create value for the fund’s investors.”