European real estate investment and asset management firm Catalyst Capital has announced the first close of Catalyst European Property Fund II (CEPF II), a €1.25 bn real estate fund.

European real estate investment and asset management firm Catalyst Capital has announced the first close of Catalyst European Property Fund II (CEPF II), a €1.25 bn real estate fund.

At the first close Catalyst raised equity commitments of €150 mln from a mix of US and European pension funds, US endowments, funds of funds, family offices and wealth management firms, including investors from Catalyst’s first European real estate fund, Catalyst European Property Fund I (CEPF I).

Almost half of the initial commitments have already been deployed in three separate transactions in the UK and Europe, Catalyst said.

CEPF II will invest in the office and retail sectors and, geographically, in the countries in Europe where Catalyst has an established presence: the UK, France, Belgium, Germany and Poland, where Catalyst believes there is the potential to source attractive value-creation opportunities and capitalise on the market dislocation between prime and secondary assets.

It will target a diversified portfolio of income-producing assets and development and refurbishment opportunities. Like its predecessor fund, which was fully invested in 2012, CEPF II has a value-add strategy.

Julian Newiss, founding partner of Catalyst, commented: 'We believe the current environment provides an excellent opportunity to generate strong returns. The volume of European distressed property loan sales coming onto the market has never been higher and is set to continue as a result of the European Central Bank’s Asset Quality Review.'