FINANCE: Marcus Palmer is leaving Hermes Fund Managers just one year after being hired to spearhead a move into UK real estate debt.
The head of real estate debt is understood to be on gardening leave ahead of leaving officially in September.
His role has been temporarily taken over by director of fund management Ben Sanderson but a replacement will be sought.
Palmer launched the Hermes Real Estate Senior Debt Fund in October with a £400m of commitment from parent company the BT Pension Scheme.
Hermes is continuing to raise third-party capital for the vehicle, which has capacity to grow to £2bn. However, it confirmed that it is yet to originate a loan.
The strategy for the vehicle was to partner with other lenders to provide senior loans of £30m-£100m and deploy up to £1bn pa.
Sanderson said Hermes was not changing its debt strategy despite tightening margins, which on prime assets have come in from 300 bps last year to sub-150 bps.
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
