Investment firm KKR and UK residential development finance provider Urban Exposure have formed a £165m (€185.7m) lending platform to support small and medium-sized affordable housing developers.
Varun Khanna, a director at KKR’s credit arm, said: “KKR is excited to partner with Urban Exposure, working closely with management to find opportunities to create value in an evolving UK residential property market.
“The strength of our platform, outstanding management team and favourable market fundamentals will enable us to support SME developers in building affordable housing for the benefit of the UK.”
KKR’s investment is being made through its Credit funds, which currently have assets under management of $60.7bn (€52.2bn).
Sundeep Lakhtaria, a partner at Urban Exposure, said: “Urban Exposure has considerable experience in managing third party funds through a long history of joint ventures and syndicated transactions.
“We aim to leverage this strength in the asset management business through strategic and collaborative relationships such as this joint venture with KKR.”
Randeesh Sandhu, the CEO of Urban Exposure, said: “We are pleased to have closed this joint venture, which is a continuation of our strategy to grow our third-party asset management business whilst also continuing to deploy our balance sheet lending funds.
“The scale of the venture means we can offer further significant support to SME developers as they seek funding for mainstream housing projects across the UK. We believe the venture will demonstrate our ability to deliver shareholder value by combining our experience with KKR’s significant financial and operational expertise.”
