Guggenheim Partners is expected to make its first European real estate investment via the debt markets and will maintain a particular focus on the UK and Spain, according to its new head of real estate.
Jonathan Goldstein, who joined the US company this year to lead its new European real estate business, told IP Real Estate he was already working on concluding two debt investments.
Goldstein, who spent the past five years as deputy chief executive at Heron International, said: “We have a couple of situations that are well advanced, and that is because they were in progress already.”
He added: “We clearly have capacity on the debt side and clients who are yield-hungry on the equity side. It will be a slightly slower burn.”
Guggenheim is likely to target investments in the UK and Spain, although Goldstein also has responsibility for the French and Swedish markets.
Goldstein said Spain offered the “best opportunities at the moment”, and that Guggenheim would therefore focus on this market, as well as the UK, in the first few months.
In the UK, it will focus on office and industrial properties, both in central London and the regions.
“Residential is flavour of the month in London,” Goldstein said. “But it is clearly frothy at the top.”
Guggenheim, which attempted to acquire Deutsche Bank’s real estate investment management arm in 2012, established its real estate operation in 2001, and has been expanding its activities and building up a real estate portfolio in both debt and equity.
In March 2013, the firm appointed Henry Silverman to the new position of global head of real estate and infrastructure.
Goldstein said Guggenheim would be making a careful entry into the European real estate market, remarking that it was “important not to run before you can walk”.
He said one of his strengths was his ability “to forge partnerships and long-term relationships”.
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