CR Investment Management has hired Stéphane Adolf from Hypothekenbank Frankfurt (formerly Eurohypo) to be managing director of its special situations and mid-market lending activities.
CR said it plans to grow its lending activities over the next 12-24 months, with the aim of launching a platform in conjunction with a capital partner. The real estate advisor, asset and investment manager has identified an opportunity to target commercial real estate markets with favourable credit conditions, but which are under-served, due both to the scaling-back of traditional lenders’ commercial real estate (CRE) businesses and a scarcity of new entrants. CR will source, fund and execute senior, stretched senior, mezzanine and junior CRE loans.
'Loan pools acquired post-crisis equates to over €150 bn. However the path to the ultimate refinancing of individual underlying positions is often difficult due to the lack of broad based debt financing for anything other than prime core assets,' commented Jacob Lyons, managing director and founding partner of CR. 'CR sees this as an opportunity to combine its expertise in sourcing and robust credit underwriting to selectively provide financing on an opportunistic risk-adjusted basis, across two distinct strategies. We are delighted to have someone of Stéphane’s caliber to take that business forwards.'
Adolf's track record includes 21 years at Hypothekenbank Frankfurt (formerly Eurohypo) owned by Commerzbank, as part of a 26-year career.
