Investment manager M&G Investments has provided around £3.5 bn (€4.4 bn) in financing for real estate deals in the past 12 months through a combination of commercial mortgage loans, long-lease property and social housing loans.
Investment manager M&G Investments has provided around £3.5 bn (€4.4 bn) in financing for real estate deals in the past 12 months through a combination of commercial mortgage loans, long-lease property and social housing loans.
In Europe, M&G has deployed almost £2 bn since the beginning of 2014, including a £238 mln financing for Northern Trust Group, the UK property investment, development and land regeneration company.
Activity has continued in continental Europe with the financing of two shopping centres in Ireland and Spain as well as the €110 mln acquisition financing of the largest Dutch residential property since 2008.
'Investments are now being made in a variety of structures. Whether it is the realisation of operating assets’ value through a sale-and-leaseback deal or a private loan to a company alongside the traditional banks, companies are working with M&G in order to create a bespoke solution for their financing needs,' commented Mark Hutchinson, co-head of alternative credit at M&G Investments.
M&G said it was among the first non-bank lenders following the global financial crisis to identify investment opportunities in real estate finance. 'Going into 2015 we are seeing increasing demand for alternative methods of funding real estate in the UK and continental Europe,' added John Barakat, head of real estate finance, M&G Investments.
M&G closed its initial real estate debt fund in 2009. In March this year, the company completed the fundraising for its two new junior commercial mortgage funds, reaching £1.35 bn of capital commitments from over 40 institutional investors from Europe and the US. M&G has also raised £1.5 bn in external funds to invest in senior commercial mortgages in addition to capital invested on behalf of Prudential.