Aeriance Investments clocks up €286.5m of new loans in 2014

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.

Aeriance is part of the growing alternative segment of the lending market filling gaps left by Europe’s traditional real estate banks.

Aeriance, led by former head of international lending at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank Harin Thaker (pictured), said it still sees attractive opportunities in the residential market and “robust demand in the UK regions”.

Thaker said: “We have now built [critical mass] in our lending activities, having surpassed the €1bn of loans mark. With an industry-leading specialist team in place, we look forward to growing the volume of our book further in 2015”.

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

Among Aeriance’s residential deals in 2014 were two bridge loans totalling €23.8m; a senior residential bridge financing of €20.3m to support the acquisition of a large terraced house in London’s Westminster; a separate loan of €3.5m to fund the refinancing of a 24-month development project of two family homes plus 5,000 sq ft of adjacent commercial space near Notting Hill in west London.

On the commercial side Aeriance arranged a bridge loan of €13m to fund the acquisition of an office building in London’s Portland Place at a 66.7% LTV. A €3m bridge loan was separately advanced to a Swedish client to acquire a portfolio of 11 properties across the country, which are currently 100% let to foster home operator Baggium on long leases. A mezzanine loan for €5.4m was drawn for a London hotel and Aeriance also provided a €13.5m development loan to Trust Estates for the construction of a 206-bed student housing scheme in central Newcastle, which is due to complete by September.