Duet Private Equity has raised more than £300m for its real estate debt fund.
Its European Real Estate Debt Fund, which specialises in providing mezzanine loans secured against commercial property in western Europe, reached its targeted final capital close at the end of August.
The capital was raised from institutional investors across Europe and North America as well as through Duet Real Estate Finance, a Guernsey-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The fund has completed nine investments since its inception, including the provision of £80m mezzanine financing for Blackstone’s recent acquisition of the Mint Hotel portfolio.
The group said that the amount of commercial property loans falling due in Europe over the next five years, together with the lack of available finance from European banks, means that the fund is well positioned to deploy capital into the gap that has emerged in the financing structure.
Dale Lattanzio, Duet Private Equity’s managing director, said: “We are very pleased by the response from the institutional investor community. There are a number of favourable commercial property finance opportunities in Europe where we can continue to invest the fund’s capital.”
Cyrus Korat, senior investment manager of Duet, said: “We’ve seen a steady increase in new deal enquiries from all parts of the market, and our active deal pipeline continues to grow on an almost daily basis.
“Having now completed transactions in the UK, Germany, France and Denmark, and for assets in the retail, office, Hotel and healthcare sectors, we are well progressed in building a high-quality, well-diversified portfolio for our investors.”
Evercore Securities was the sole placement agent representing the fund; Oriel Securities acted as financial adviser and placement agent for DREF.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
