REL Finance Seeks Short-Term Financing Opportunities Across Asset Classes
REL Finance, a UK real estate focused debt and equity platform, has launched with £100 million raised from private investors to support short-term financing opportunities across multiple asset classes in its first year.
The fund has just closed its first ever deal with a £21.2 million refinancing of a facility for a East Asian-based developer and investor for its trophy City of London asset.
REL Finance has been founded by Tashin Morjaria, formerly an executive director at Ugandan institution, I&M Bank (Orient Bank until 2021), and Sumeer Bose, who was previously a director in Topland Group’s structured finance team.
It is targeting ticket sizes of £3 million to £40 million across senior loans – up to 70% loan to value – mezzanine and joint venture equity on agreements of up to 24 months.
The fund is UK-focused, withopportunities being explored in multiple cities, arid sector-agnostic.
Morjaria said: “The UK’s CRE debt market has tightened considerably, with the clearing banks becoming much more cautious in their approach to what they anticipate being a prolonged period of market volatility.”
“But opportunistic buyers and developers.ge spotting great assets with strong repositioning plays coming at a time when values are likely starting to plateau. We see our role as being able to move quickly to allow them to capitalise, with our funding secured and ready to deploy.”
Bose added: “Having a relationship-led approach has long been a cliché in real estate finance but it’s at moments like this that they really matter, and they are at the centre of our approach and ability to execute quickly.”