Press Release

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.”