With banks hesitant to lend money right now, it is no surprise that private equity funds are decisively adding to their share of the global property lending market. For more information, read the following article from Property Wire.
Debt funds set up by real estate private equity players could capture as much as a fifth of the global property lending market in 2009 as banks recoil further from the credit-starved sector, it is claimed.
Bernhard Koehler, chief executive of Swisslake Capital said that he believes that many private equity funds originally set up to snare distressed bricks and mortar were now lining up to fill a vacuum left by banks smothered by losses from mortgage-related assets.
“There’s a big need for these funds, even if they can’t solve all the problems. The majority of fund managers are skilled in identifying opportunities in any market, and they see good returns can be achieved by taking on the role of a bank,” he suggested.
Research from Swisslake, one of Europe’s biggest real estate private equity investment advisors, shows that debt funds managed by private equity players grabbed a 12.6 percent foothold in the world’s real estate lending market in 2008.
Koehler estimated this market share could grow to 20 percent this year as a wave of fresh financing requirements threaten to overwhelm the world’s barren credit markets.
Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee
- Billions of dollars in funding available
- Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
- This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid
“Our calculations show around 85 billion pounds of UK real estate debt will need to be refinanced before 2012 and that’s just the UK,” said Koehler.
“That’s an enormous challenge for the whole industry. And there are very few banks willing to satisfy this,” he added.
According to Swisslake, a total 43 debt funds comprising more than 57 billion euros of seed capital were launched by real estate private equity specialists in 2008, almost double the number of launches seen in 2007.
These funds provide all types of debt, ranging from conventional mortgages to mezzanine finance. In some cases, where owners fail to refinance, debt funds can also profit by taking possession of the underlying asset and restructuring it.
Koehler said he expected the number of 2009 debt fund launches to eclipse the 2008 tally as the potential to make double-digit percentage returns tempts more cash-rich fund managers to act.
Real estate specialists are not the only private equity players to spot potential to make handsome returns from stricken credit markets.
Leo Black, the founder of Apollo Management LP, says he expects to strike more debt investments than classic buyout deals over the next two years.
In the past, real estate debt funds were mainly focused on plugging demand for finance in the United States, with very few vehicles launched in 2006 and 2007 targeting European or Asian markets, Swisslake’s research also shows.
This article has been reposted from Property Wire. View the article on Property Wire’s international real estate news website here.
