CREFW-Fall2015

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CRE Finance World Autumn 2015
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Our own experience has been of an exceptionally busy first half.
Since January we have screened around 150 opportunities, of
which around 40 have been approved by our credit committee
and around half have closed, meaning that we have provided over
€ 230m of property lending up to the end of July 2015.
Here to Stay in the European Financing Landscape
The alternative lenders are clearly resisting the return of the banks
and structured products such as CMBS in spite of the tougher
competition and market conditions. This resilience is based on a
series of built-in strengths:
• Borrowers are attracted by more bespoke and tailor-made
financings offered by the smaller debt funds that are more
flexible than high-street banks and CMBS lenders with their set
criteria. This is true for investment loans but even more crucial to
development finance.
• Debt funds and other alternative lenders have the ability to be
much more reactive. They can move quickly providing loans in
a matter of weeks, often considerably faster than institutional
players.
• Debt funds are not only attracting borrowers but they are also an
increasingly favoured investment for institutions eager to get real
estate exposure at a relatively low risk. By going to smaller funds
they can more easily retain an element of control.
Those elements have allowed the alternative end of the market
to grow and prosper, and it is now a key pillar in the European
financing landscape. We expect it to successfully coexist with
other forms of finance for many years to come.
Alternative Real Estate Lenders in Europe: Here for Good