Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) said it has raised an initial €250 million for its new European real estate debt strategy.

It said the strategy is focused on providing whole and mezzanine loans as well as preferred equity to investors in the major European markets.

“The capital has been raised from a mix of international investors for two debt vehicles, the Edmond de Rothschild European Real Estate Debt Fund and a dedicated fund with a German insurance group,” said REIM.

“The Real Estate Debt Fund, which is targeting to deliver an income distribution of 4%-5% a year and a net total return of approximately 8%, is aiming for a target size of €300 million.

“The two debt vehicles have complementary risk-return profiles and may co-invest in the same loan transactions with target loan-to-value ratios of 70% – 80% on average, potentially more on individual deals.

“The lending strategies focus on all major and alternative property sectors in the European real estate markets, including Germany, France, Benelux, Nordics, Spain, Italy and the UK, leveraging off Edmond de Rothschild REIM’s extensive network and local presence across Europe.”

Ralf Kind, Head of Real Estate Debt at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, said: “As an alternative lender we can provide flexible financing solutions for borrowers from a single source in an efficient and timely manner.

“We have a dedicated and experienced international real estate debt team based in Frankfurt and we are not distracted by any legacy, pre Covid-19, loan book positions.

“We can, therefore, focus entirely on new deals.”

Christophe Caspar, Global Head of Asset Management at Edmond de Rothschild Group, said: “We are now in a lenders’ market.

“The case for private real estate debt has become even stronger given the huge lending opportunities at lower risk and higher margins.

“Credit is a good place to be when markets are going through a correction.”