UK property has “exciting opportunities” in the wake of last week’s EU referendum, according to Benson Elliot.
The company’s managing partner, Marc Mogull, said the company was likely to make more UK investments in its latest pan-European fund as a result.
The fund manager this week closed its €700m (£581.7m) Benson Elliot Real Estate Partners IV fund. With anticipated gearing of around 50%, the fund will have a total firepower of €1.4bn.
Mogull said: “It is likely that in a period like the one we are in now, with the potential for enormous volatility, we could see pricing swings that create some exciting opportunities.”
He said: “Overnight everything’s got a lot cheaper. To the extent that we see current owners of UK assets looking for an exit and we can strike the kinds of deals that, on a medium- to long-term basis look attractive, we may find ourselves more engaged in the UK. It is definitely an opportune time to have money.”
The 10-year fund has already acquired three properties in the UK, including Vicarage Field Shopping Centre in Barking, E6, the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, and Guildford Business Park in Surrey.
It also owns a shopping centre in Bologna, Italy, and offices in Berlin, Germany.
However, Mogull stressed that it was too early to know how the funds will be allocated in the aftermath of last week’s vote.
“There are certain sectors we are pleased we avoided in the past two or three years, and the obvious two are city offices and London high-end residential. But in terms of where we are going to move, we need to have more clarity on where we see the opportunities rising,” he said.
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