By: Property Week
Property Week: James Whitmore: 18 April 2012
Queensgate Investments, a new private equity real estate fund manager set up by Jason Kow and LJ Investment Group, has launched a £1bn fund to buy properties in the UK and Europe.
Queensgate Investments Fund I is a Luxembourg CSSF-regulated fund, which has raised £500m equity from very wealthy European families. It will have £100m of discretionary equity and £400m of non-discretionary equity, which will be used as co-investment in deals. It will also use debt.
The fund will be targeting investments in long-income assets, hotels and special situations in the UK and Europe.
Queensgate Investments is a joint venture between Kow, former head of special situations at London & Regional Properties, and LJ Investment Group, a multi- family office with £4bn of assets under management for around 200 families. LJ is headed by Andrew Williams, former EMEA chairman of residential and hospitality at Cushman & Wakefield.
LJ’s merchant banking arm, LJ Capital, is backed by the owner of Guggenheim Partners Latin America and Guggenheim Investment Advisors (Suisse).
It counts Simon Berrill, a senior adviser to Macquarie Capital, and multi-let industrial expert John Sims as advisors.
Kow said: “There is as much as €500bn of property debt in Europe expiring over the next three years and regulatory changes, such as Basel III, are creating unique buying opportunities for investors with ready equity who are able to act rapidly”.