The Townsend Group, the Cleveland-based global investment management firm, has announced an investment in the real estate lending platform in India run by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
The firm is the second investor to have committed capital to the real estate-focused non-bank financial institution (NBFC), sponsored and managed by KKR. The Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC is the lead investor in the vehicle, launched at the beginning of this year to provide structured credit solutions to the real estate sector.
In a statement announcing the investment, Townsend said the deal provides a “unique investment opportunity within select emerging markets that seek to benefit from the lack of long-term capital and strong urbanization trends.” The size of the investment was not disclosed.
“Townsend is excited to invest alongside GIC in the KKR managed real estate lending platform. The strong secular demand for middle income housing requires innovative credit solutions and long-term capital. The KKR NBFC platform provides our clients a thoughtful framework to execute in India and a strong investment partner with specialized, local market and property expertise,” said Prashant Tiwari, principal of The Townsend Group.
In January this year, KKR partnered with GIC to form its second NBFC in the country with a view to provide tailored financing solutions to property developers.
On the partnership with Townsend, Sanjay Nayar, chief executive officer of KKR India said: “In addition to GIC, we are pleased to have Townsend investors join the shareholder group of our real estate NBFC in India. This additional long term capital allows the real estate NBFC to better fulfill a critical market need by assisting developers with solutions best suited to their needs. KKR continues the strategic build out of its real estate financing platform, leveraging its local and global real estate expertise in structuring and underwriting real estate solutions.”
Townsend has prior exposure to investing in India’s real estate sector on behalf of its clients. According to earlier PERE reports, the firm has committed equity to private equity real estate platforms including Red Fort Capital, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) and Sun Apollo.
If you do not receive this within five minutes, please try to sign in again. If the problem persists, please email: 
