Starwood links up with CWI to launch European finance platform

US-based investor Starwood Capital Group has announced the launch of Starwood European Finance Company (StarFin), a real estate finance platform designed to take advantage of financing opportunities arising from banks' retreat from property lending.

Cushman & Wakefield, through its investment management arm Cushman & Wakefield Investors (CWI), is to be a partner and investor in StarFin. CWI will help source financing opportunities and provide market intelligence and research.

StarFin is Starwood Capital's third major debt platform and follows its two debt platforms in the US which have lent over $10 bn, the company said in a statement.

StarFin will be led by Starwood Capital’s European management team, including senior managing director Jeff Dishner and Peter Denton, who joined as head of European debt from BNP Paribas in April this year. The platform will focus on the UK and Northern European real estate markets and will follow a broad loan origination (lending direct to the property owner) and acquisition (acquiring part of a loan made by another lender) model, investing across a combination of senior, whole, subordinated, bridge and development loans with a maximum portfolio loan-to-value of 75%.

Typical loan sizes sought will be from EUR 40 mln for whole loans and from EUR 20 mln for subordinated loans, with capacity to undertake transactions of greater scale; in all property sectors including commercial, industrial, office, retail and residential.

Denton said the partnership with CWI gives Starwood a full house of experience in Europe at a time when 'a debt maturity bubble is looming'. 'Starwood was established in 1991 in the depths of that real estate downturn. In good times and bad we’ve built a track record in real estate financing via large debt platforms,' said Denton. 'We’re looking forward to expanding our presence in the European financing market.'

Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield EMEA added: 'The debt funding gap is undeniable and offers striking opportunities. This partnership means we’ll combine our market intelligence and extensive European platform with Starwood Capital’s expertise and experience in the real estate debt market.'