European debt advisory service Laurus Property Partners has expanded to the UK with the opening of its London office.
Laurus specialises in structuring and sourcing capital for real estate transactions, and has handled more than €2bn of deals from its base in Munich.
The UK business will be headed by Andrew Wheldon. He joins from Lloyds Banking Group where, as director of real estate and housing, he focused on financing for listed property companies and international developers. Wheldon has 10 years of experience in property, closing deals for the likes of HB Reavis, Helical and Knight Dragon.
At Laurus he will focus on expanding Laurus’ client-base of private equity funds, institutional investors, property companies, closed-end funds, corporates, family offices and asset managers.
Wheldon said: “We will provide tailored advice, enabling our clients to navigate the increasingly diverse and complex real estate debt market and also the unpredictable economic and political environment.”
In a joint statement, founding partners Oliver Richter and Matthias Dahmen, said: “In light of the fragmented nature of the lender universe and increased market volatility, having a trusted partner provide quality advice and run a competitive financing process becomes more valuable for a variety of sponsors.
“Andrew’s track record, expertise and skillset enables us to offer broader jurisdictional coverage to our existing global and pan-European clients. The UK launch forms an important step towards Laurus becoming a leading pan-European advisory platform.”
Laurus launched in 2012. The firm sources capital via a network of more than 200 lenders and investors, advising on acquisition financing, refinancing, restructuring and equity cash-out situations. Its advisory board includes John Nacos, former global head of commercial real estate at Deutsche Bank, and Rolf Elgeti, chairman of the supervisory board at TAG Immobilien.
To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette
