UNITED STATES - Pramerica Real Estate Investors has created a team as part of a move to put together a high-yield debt platform to conduct transactions on a global basis.

Jack Taylor has joined the company as a managing director and will lead the company's high-yield debt business, at the same time as Steven Plust and Stephen Alpart have joined as MDs; two individuals who have worked with Taylor in the past.

Taylor, who was previously a partner at File Mile Capital Partners LLC and portfolio manager for its structured income fund, will be assisted by Andrew Radiewicz, Andrew Macland, Matthew Crowther and Brian Scally, who are all based in London and began work earlier this year but now report to Taylor.

Pramerica believes the shortage of real estate debt in the marketplace is not a short-term problem so opportunities will surface on occasions, according Taylor.

"The lack of debt is going to take several years to correct when you consider there is a $100bn (€72.2bn) shortage in Europe and $500bn in the United States. There will be some very good investment opportunities available to investors with capital," said Taylor.

Pramerica is planning to focus its interest on investing capital in both Europe and the US, though the main European targets will be the UK and Germany.

"We want to inves in existing income producing properties," said Taylor. "The vast majority of this will be with the four main property types of industrial, office, retail and apartments."

The real estate manager will also consider deals involving the purchase of existing mortgages on real estate properties.

Pramerica figures on investing in high yield debt through three sources of capital - new commingled funds worth between $200m and $1bn or separate accounts with one investor, as well as a $500m commingled fund called the Prudential Mezzanine Fund. It is now in the midst of fundraising and which has already persuaded the Teachers Retirement System of Texas to invest.

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