RiverRock European Capital Partners has launched its first real estate mezzanine debt fund.

European and Middle Eastern institutional and family office investors backed the fund.

The London-based firm is targeting manage-to-core commercial real estate opportunities in Europe, with a focus on German value-add commercial real estate in the country’s B cities.

RiverRock said it intended to originate such loans between €5m and €15m on 2-4 year terms.

Nicolaus Harnack and Franz Lucien Moersdorf will manage the fund.

Harnack said: “We see attractive mezzanine investment opportunities in Germany, particularly in transactions where greater flexibility and a willingness to work with the owner is required.

“A more rigorous regulatory regime has also reduced the willingness of many larger lenders to look positively at smaller markets.”

Sectors considered particularly attractive for the fund include retail, office and logistics.

The firm said it would also consider hotels, as well as residential properties.