Laxfield Capital and JC Rathbone have established a debt advisory joint venture.
The London-based firms said the new JCRA Laxfield entity will advise borrowers on commercial real estate finance in the UK and Europe.
The joint venture will aim to marry borrowers with lenders.
JC Rathbone said it has worked on several investment deals, with debt facilities coming from banks, funds and institutional lenders. In the past year, the firm said it has advised on around £1bn (€1.36bn) of debt facilities.
Laxfield, meanwhile, runs the Laxfield Lending Programme, set up for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). Laxfield’s principals have arranged deals with a value of more than £9bn to date.
The joint venture ”aims to foster strong and lasting relationships between borrowers and debt providers, enabling investors to execute long-term strategies”, the firms said.
Adam Slater, Laxfield Capital managing director, said globalisation of debt capital and an increase in the variety of lenders had made the real estate finance market ”more difficult for borrowers to navigate, increasing the need for bespoke financial advice”.
JCRA Laxfield will offer debt-related services for borrowers, from inception to repayment.
The firms said their existing businesses will be unaffected by the joint venture and continue to operate independently.
