Orion moves back into comfort zone

Orion Capital Managers has a good nose for timing. After being a significant vendor in the boom period of 2006-07, in May this year it snapped up the Plenilunio shopping centre in Madrid for a total of EUR 235 mln from Banif Immobiliare, the Santander-managed real estate fund.

The transaction volume marked a 26% discount to the value at the end of the fourth quarter (EUR 320 mln), and the deal goes on record as the largest single asset transaction completed so far in Continental Europe during 2009.

Asked by PropertyEU about the markets and segments Orion is targeting, founding partner Aref Lahham said: 'We are an opportunistic investor, so we look at everything that we think is an opportunity and a quality asset. We're driven by opportunity, and don't have geographic allocations or targets.

'We have money to invest anywhere in Europe, including Turkey although the focus is on Western Europe. Western Europe was hit hard by the financial crisis and is the first to recover.'

The full interview appears in the November edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe.