Marbleton Property Fund, Alfa-Bank Ukraine and Griffin Investment Partners Announce a Joint Venture to Build a High Street Retail Portfolio of ˆ100 Million in Secondary Cities in Ukraine
13 Dec 2007
December 13, 2007 - Metropolitan Properties is a three party joint venture
between the Marbleton Property Fund (“the Fund”), Alfa Bank Ukraine and Griffin
Investment Partners (“GIP”) to acquire high street properties in secondary cities
in Ukraine. The strategy is to build up a portfolio of high yielding assets and add
additional value through active asset management, i.e. repositioning,
refurbishment, re-tenanting, etc. Each of the partners has committed ˆ10 million
in equity capital to the joint venture.
Marbleton Property Fund is a US$321 million private equity real estate fund, cosponsored
by JER Partners and Alfa Capital Partners with a focus on real estate
investments across all property sectors in Russia, the Ukraine and other CIS
countries. The fund closed in June 2007.
Griffin Investment Partners has successfully implemented this strategy in Poland
and is looking to expand into Ukraine and other CIS countries. The joint venture
expects to acquire its first assets in the first quarter of 2008.
Malcolm Le May, President Europe at JER Partners commented: “We are
delighted to be creating this platform partnering with GIP’s proven business
model and Alfa Bank Ukraine’s local network of contacts in order to target the
Ukrainian property market.”
Richard Sobel, Chief Executive Officer of Alfa Capital Partners, stated: “We see
strong demand by retailers who are targeting the dynamic consumers throughout
Ukraine and we look forward to working with local and international retailers as
they grow and expand their businesses, particularly in Ukraine’s regional cities.”
Marcin Halicki, Managing Partner of Griffin Investment Partners, said: “For the
last 15 years Partners of GIP were actively investing into private equity and real
estate projects in Poland consistently delivering high return to its investors. We
have set the stage for growth into region, and with our strategy and execution
strength, I have a clear vision of realizing even higher returns from taking
advantage of the opportunities in the Central and Eastern markets. Teaming up
with Marbleton Property Fund and Alfa Bank gives us a level of comfort to
aggressively expand the business and I foresee that the size of our venture will
grow beyond our initial expectations.”
About JER Partners (“JER“)
JER Partners is the private equity investment arm of the J.E. Robert Companies, a real estate
investment management company founded by Joseph E. Robert, Jr. J.E. Robert Companies has
26 years of experience in sourcing, underwriting and managing a broad spectrum of real estate
equity investments and debt products.
JER Real Estate Advisors (UK) Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for
investment business. For more information on JER, please visit http://www.jer.com/
About Griffin Investment Partners (“GIP”)
GIP is a platform for developing, executing, and managing real estate investment businesses in
CEE countries with over ˆ360 million of equity under management from institutional and private
investors.
About Alfa Bank Ukraine (“ABU”)
ABU is one of the most dynamic privately-owned banks in Ukraine ranking among the TOP-10
largest banks. The bank operates in all key sectors of the banking sphere, including retail,
corporate banking and arrangement and underwriting of corporate bonds. For more information
on ABU, please visit www.alfabank.com.ua/en
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