Former Lehman Brothers bankers set up UK opportunity fund

Andrew Pettit and William Killick, who formed Revcap in 2004 as a specialist co-investment firm, have teamed up with Kilmartin Property Group to launch a joint venture fund hoping to pick up smaller commercial assets in areas of London.

Real Estate Venture Capital Management (Revcap) and Kilmartin Property Group have launched a Central London opportunity fund.

Kilmartin London Partners, 50:50 joint venture, has raised initial equity of £10 million (€12 million; $19 million), which, when geared, will provide it with around £40 million of firepower.

The joint venture partners said in a statement that it saw considerable potential for value creation in Central London despite challenging market conditions. The strategy is to identify commercial real estate assets, in lot sizes of between £5-30 million, in areas of London where a combination of low supply and good growth potential exists. These areas include Clerkenwell, Southwark, Lambeth and Paddington. Bank of Scotland Corporate is backing the venture.

Revcap was established in 2004 by former Lehman bankers Andrew Pettit and William Killick with offices in London and Paris. Pettit and Killick worked with Lehman’s Global Real Estate Finance Group. Kilmartin was founded in Edinburgh in 1996 and targets property development, investment and regeneration schemes across the UK.