AllianceBernstein has launched a European Commercial Real Estate Debt (ECRED) business by partnering with Lacarne Capital, a pan European real estate debt platform led by Clark Coffee, a veteran of the region’s private credit markets.
The asset manager has announced in a press release that ECRED will launch with 1.2 billion dollars of initial capital, making it one of the largest real estate direct lending platform launches in Europe. The business will focus on direct origination and secondary participations in whole loans, subordinate loans, preferred equity and other real estate backed investments across the UK and European markets.
AllianceBernstein believes that this is an opportune time for ECRED’s launch, “as the disruption created by COVID-19 has made traditional sources of capital harder to secure, resulting in an increased opportunity set and relevance for alternative lenders”. The launch follows the “success” of the firm’s US Commercial Real Estate Debt platform (CRED), currently overseeing nearly 6 billion dollars in investor commitments since its launch in 2013. The firm pointed out that this is a natural extension of its broader strategy of continuing to diversify and grow its Private Alternatives franchise.
Coffee will serve as Chief Investment Officer of the ECRED business. He will be joined by Shivam Rastogi, former Head of Deutsche Bank’s Debt Origination and High Yield Lending business in Europe; and Daniel Stengel, previously General Counsel of Tyndaris Real Estate. The team will be based in London and Frankfurt.
“Following the success of our US CRED business, Europe is the logical next step for expanding AB’s growing Private Alternatives franchise. We are delighted to be in business with Clark, who not only brings an impressive investment track record but also benefits from first-hand experience building a successful European private debt business”, said Matthew Bass, Head of Private Alternatives for AllianceBernstein commented.
Meanwhile, Coffee commented that they have secured a “great partner” in AllianceBernstein:“Their ability to raise significant capital in the midst of a global pandemic speaks for itself. The breadth of their operational expertise and investor relationships provides a strong foundation upon which we intend to build a leading European real estate debt business”.
For Funds Society, Madrid
