French asset manager La Francaise and UK-based Forum Partners are working on a European senior debt fund which they plan to launch by year-end or in early 2014.
French asset manager La Francaise and UK-based Forum Partners are working on a European senior debt fund which they plan to launch by year-end or in early 2014.
La Francaise’s managing director Marc Bertrand told PropertyEU: ‘We plan to set up and market together a senior debt fund giving investors exposure to a number of European markets. We would manage the French activities and Forum would manage the business in the UK, Germany and the Benelux.’
La Française AM entered the debt space in 2012 with the launch of a French senior debt fund - the first such fund in France. The vehicle is currently fully invested, having reached a size of around €230 mln.
Commenting on the partnership with Forum, Bertrand said the company will be able to offer investors higher yields by widening the investment exposure to Western Europe. ‘The new fund will provide a clever mix in terms of geographic allocation but also in terms of sectors,’ he noted.
La Française, a subsidiary of French bank Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe with €37 bn of assets under management, announced in September it had taken a 25% stake in the property investment specialist.
Under the alliance, the partners will collaborate on a series of new European investment products, including a joint venture to develop European direct real estate products.
