LONDON: An HIG Capital LLC affiliate plans to start raising a Europe-dedicated real estate fund this year as banks sell assets ahead of European Central Bank stress tests.
HIG’s Bayside Capital wanted to secure US$500mil of equity for investment in European real estate, Ahmed Hamdani, a managing director at the firm, said in an interview.
Bayside manages about US$5bil of assets including more than US$2bil set aside for investment in Europe, according to a company presentation. More than 40 billion euros (US$55bil) of commercial-property loans and real estate owned properties would be sold this year, 32% more than in 2012, Cushman & Wakefield Inc said last month.
Bayside previously raised more than US$750mil for a separate European fund that invested in industrial properties in the Netherlands and a shopping mall in Spain, according to the company’s website.
The ECB stress tests, examining a bank’s ability to withstand financial setbacks, would be carried out on a sample of 128 lenders and include a review of their assets, the central bank said earlier this month.
HIG, a private-equity firm based in Miami, manages more than US$15bil, according to its website. – Bloomberg
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