Deals

Tristan speeds up first closing

The start-up firm run by Ric Lewis has brought forward a first close for Curzon Capital Partners III as it hones in on 5 European deals during a time when spreads between core-plus and value-added yields are at ‘a cyclical high’.

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Tristan Capital Partners, the London-based pan-European private equity real estate firm, has hastened to a first close on its maiden fund in order to commit to several deals it has entered into exclusivity on.

The €60 million fundraise for Curzon Capital Partners III – which has occurred within three months of launching the €500 million vehicle – comes as it prepares to commit to five deals in the UK, Germany, Austria, and Central Europe.

Chief executive officer, Ric Lewis, said: “We agreed with an initial group of our investors to move to a modest early first close on CCP III, to secure the equity capital for several investments which fit perfectly into the fund’s core-plus strategy. We are in advanced due diligence with several more potential investors and expect an additional closing in late summer or early autumn, but this was a situation where time was of the essence.”

The deals it has exclusivity on collectively total more than €250 million in value and Lewis said the firm has a €200 million revolving line of credit with RBS International to draw upon.

He added: “We believe a core plus investment strategy will be a target-rich opportunity in Europe over the next couple of years. Spreads between core plus/value added yields and core yields are at a cyclical high. The challenge, and the opportunity, is to sort through the large volume of possible core plus investments for those which possess significant potential for value enhancement by active asset management and also have the highest likelihood of attracting institutional buyers as the economic cycle advances and improves across Europe.”

In addition to CCP III, Tristan also manages the value added and opportunistic fund series including European Property Investors Special Opportunities (EPISO). EPISO has completed on around €1 billion of acquisitions in the last 15 months and is in the middle of added new deals in Germany, France and the UK. Around 80 percent of the equity capital has been invested, with the investment period ending in June 2012. The fund is ultimately managed on behalf of AEW Europe.