EUROPE - Catalyst Capital LLP, a European investment and asset management firm, has secured the support of major institutional investors for its €228.5m pan-European property fund.

The Catalyst European Property Fund LP is the firm's first dedicated European fund and plans to focus on opportunistic investments in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and some central European markets.

Peter Kasch, managing partner of Catalyst Capital LLP, said: "Our efforts are now concentrating on identifying acquisition opportunities where we can add value during a recovery period in the markets, particularly in established prime markets. Investment is now focused on cash flow and is as attractive as we have seen in twenty years."

The fund, which launched in October 2007, has secured €228.5m of committed capital from North American and European pension funds, endowments, foundations and charitable trusts, though officials were unwilling to reveal further details about the pension fund investors.

The firm's European fund has an eight-year life and is targeting an internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 20% by focusing on investing in office, retail, industrial and mixed-use properties.

The London-headquartered firm was set up in 1996 and has a commercial real estate portfolio worth over €4.1bn.

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