Aeriance completes debt platform with RBS and legal hires

Aeriance Investments has filled its 10-person debt team with the appointment of Seb Sims as associate director and Neil Sargent as legal counsel.

Sims joins from RBS where he was a director on its real estate restructuring team responsible for managing a portfolio of £3.5bn of loans. Sargent joins from law firm Eversheds where he specialised in the origination and restructuring of real estate debt.

Last year, Aeriance Investments hired Steve Penny, the former head of credit at Deutsche Postbank; Kevin Davidson, a work-out specialist from Nationwide and Chris Tessler from BLG.

Harin Thaker chief executive of Aeriance Investments, said the 10-person debt platform was now at full capacity and focused on managing its €600m European debt fund investments. The firm’s Opportunistic Real Estate Loan Fund 2 (OREL 2) provides senior and junior short-term and development finance loans targeting 10%-12% returns.

The company was looking at residential opportunities in Greater London and the UK regions as well as commercial property debt acquisitions across northwest Europe.

Aeriance Investments completed €286.5m of residential and commercial real estate loans in the UK last year. The debt fund manager closed 15 deals during the 12 months and has now lent €1.23bn since its inception in 2008. It closed €57.9m of deals in the fourth quarter of 2014.