Patron Capital, the London-based private equity real estate firm, has made a high level appointment in the shape of Mark Collins as chairman of UK investment.
The Europe-focused company, which has been busy raising its next opportunistic fund, said this morning Collins would “fulfill an important role within Patron” as it looked to invest in more than £1 billion (€1.2 billion; $1.6 billion) of assets in the UK market over the next 12 months.
Most recently, Collins has been working at Lloyds Banking Group in London as managing director of the solutions team at its business support unit which helps real estate customers that are facing financial difficulties.
He has also held other high profile roles such as senior managing director at GE Capital Real Estate, chief operating officer at Land Securities Group, and chief executive officer at Tellesma Fund Management.
Patron said his focus would be on the UK market, where he will work together with its investment team and product specialists including commercial distressed, banking, healthcare, hotels, leisure, development and complex corporate situations to help maximise the potential for new transactions in the UK.
Additionally, he will be working with partners and banks on acquisitions and joint ventures and restructuring real estate situations with new equity provided from Patron when the opportunity arises.
Keith Breslauer, Patron’s founding partner said in a statement: “Mark has a wealth of experience within property and financial institutions and will help Patron to drive opportunities in an undervalued and distressed environment. He has an immense network of contacts and an exceptional reputation in the market.”
As PERE revealed in April 2011, Patron has been on the road raising a targeted $1 billion-plus for Patron Capital IV. The company had not provided an update on progress of the fund by press time.
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