Global investment firm KKR has teamed up with UK real estate lender Puma Property Finance to launch a joint venture targeting up to £500m (€577m) in senior development and stabilisation loans to fund best-in-class residential, build-to-rent and student accommodation schemes.
The joint venture combines Puma’s established origination platform and track record in UK real estate lending with KKR’s scale, institutional structuring capabilities and global credit expertise. The platform will be supported by a senior credit facility provided by a major international bank.
The three-year forward-flow partnership will target loans between £20m and £75m in the UK living sector, including build-to-rent, build-to-sell and purpose-built student accommodation.
Puma’s specialist development lending team will be responsible for sourcing, underwriting and managing the loans on behalf of the joint venture, working alongside KKR’s global credit platform, which will provide institutional capital, structuring expertise and investment committee oversight.
Anirban Ghosh, managing director at KKR, said: “We are pleased to work with Puma Property Finance to scale access to institutional capital in the UK residential development market. We believe this platform is well positioned to support experienced developers delivering much-needed housing across the country, combining Puma’s local expertise and origination capabilities with KKR’s global credit platform and disciplined underwriting approach.”
Paul Frost, managing director of Puma Property Finance, said: “KKR’s global standing is second to none, and their backing is a clear endorsement of the strength of the business we have built at Puma, as well as the robust demand for UK real estate credit among global allocators of capital.
“This new joint venture provides our origination teams with access to attractively priced, scalable capital to support best-in-class developers across the UK living sectors. It complements our existing capital lines well and means we can support more high‑quality developments with the service levels, flexibility and human touch that people have come to expect from Puma.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
