Gatehouse Bank has appointed Natale Giostra to spearhead a move into highly leveraged commercial real estate lending.
The shariah-compliant bank plans to use its balance sheet to provide senior loans of between £5m and £100m at LTVs of up to £85% on assets in the UK, France, Germany, Benelux, Spain and Italy. It will provide development finance and lend across all property sectors, and will source its own deals rather than being fed by the bank’s real estate investment team.
Gatehouse, which is 30% owned by the Kuwaiti Investment Authority, will also participate in club deals or syndication.
Giostra, formerly CBRE’s head of UK and EMEA debt advisory, will build up a ?five-strong team in his new role as head ?of real estate finance, and expects a first ?deal to be completed in the new year.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
