Duet in £75m second close for European debt fund

Duet Private Equity has announced a second close of £75 mln (EUR 86 mln) for its European Real Estate Debt Fund. The additional investments have come through a £50 mln listing of Duet Real Estate Finance, a company that will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and £25 mln of further commitments to the partnership. The second close was mainly subscribed to by institutional investors from across Europe.

The European Real Estate Debt Fund was set up to capitalise on the lack of capital available to finance European Commercial Real Estate and to date has provided nearly £60 mln of debt capital across five transactions.

Duet sees banks as increasingly forced to reduce their real estate exposure as a result of significant falls in asset values, increased capital requirements and the overall need to reduce balance sheet size. A significant imbalance between supply and demand for real estate debt and the refinancing calendar provides a constant need for new debt, the company said.

'There are many opportunities to be uncovered in the European commercial real estate debt market, knowing where to look and executing them is the key. We're looking forward to investing the enlarged assets of the fund,' said Dale Lattanzio, managing director of Duet Private Equity. 'A number of investors continue to show interest in the strategy and we intend to work with these investors with a view to increasing the overall size of the fund.'

Oriel Securities acted as Sole Financial Adviser, Sponsor and Bookrunner for the listing of Duet Real Estate Finance. Evercore Private Funds Group acted as placement agent and adviser for Duet Private Equity.