Madison International Realty has acquired a 24.5% stake in UK real estate development lender Puma Property Finance for an unspecified sum.
The real estate private equity group has also provided significant commitment as an anchor investor to help Puma launch its debut institutional credit fund series.
Madison International said the latest acquisition reflects the firm’s ongoing strategy of investing in high-growth, middle-market real estate operating platforms and follows the firm’s $150m commitment to US single-family rental investor REI Nation in August 2023.
Puma Property has been active in the UK development finance sector, providing over £2.5bn (€2bn) in senior debt for developments across various living sectors and commercial sectors such as hotels, industrials, offices and life sciences.
Mo Saraiya, managing director at Madison International Realty, said: ”Our investment in Puma is the latest in our strategy of providing liquidity solutions and growth capital to strong management teams through a bespoke combination of property and entity level investment.
“This transaction is a testament to the market position that David and his team have established to date. We believe the unmet demand for development financing in the UK puts specialist, flexible lenders like Puma in a strong position to support the best borrowers delivering high quality, sustainable projects in sectors with strong fundamentals.”
David Kaye, founder and CEO of the Puma Capital Group, said: “We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the team at Madison and believe they share the values and ambition of our group.
“We are confident that they will add significant value and expertise and we are very much looking forward to working with them.”
Paul Frost, managing director, Puma Property Finance, said: “This partnership marks a significant milestone for our business, allowing us to access substantial additional capital at attractive pricing and providing us with the firepower to launch our first discretionary institutional debt fund.
“The Madison partnership will enable us to expand the reach of our core development finance offering, including upping our maximum loan size to £100m, whilst also increasing our provision of stabilisation lending for operational assets.”
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