Lothbury Investment Management is targeting a £500 mln (€680 mln) fund which will invest in the private rental sector (PRS) in London and the UK’s southeast region, director Timothy Phillips told PropertyEU at the Provada fair in Amsterdam last week.

Lothbury Investment Management is targeting a £500 mln (€680 mln) fund which will invest in the private rental sector (PRS) in London and the UK’s southeast region, director Timothy Phillips told PropertyEU at the Provada fair in Amsterdam last week.

Phillips, an American national who has worked with Lothbury for two years, said the company would draw on expertise in the US multi-family residential market as it seeks to grow in the PRS market, first in the UK and later in Continental Europe.

He noted that recent political developments in the UK – where the threat of rent controls has subsided following the outcome of the government elections - and moves to liberalise the rental housing market in the Netherlands made these markets attractive for investment. Further down the line there were also opportunities in Germany and Spain, he added.

‘I see it sort of as a slow movement eastward of expertise from the US, first to the UK and Europe after that,’ Phillips said.

Lothbury aims to have the PRS fund fully operational in the next 18 months to two years. ‘During that period the firm will look to harness its US investor base first ‘since that’s where the product is well understood’ before turning to Europe.

Lothbury Investment Management (LIM) is a specialist real estate fund manager with assets under management of £1.65 bn. It manages unlisted property vehicles on behalf of institutional investors seeking indirect exposure to the UK and European property markets.

LIM manages two core funds: Lothbury Property Trust (LPT) and The European Property Fund.

The firm was formed in June 2010 following a management buyout from KBC Asset Management led by CEO Simon Radford.