NEW YORK CITY-Related Companies and Highbridge Principal Strategies report they have formed a joint venture to manage a new credit platform that will invest $800 million in real estate debt.

The two New York City-based companies state the investments will focus on providing gap financing for “projects in transition in the United States.” The joint venture will source investment opportunities across the nation with a focus on gateway cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami and select secondary markets that "demonstrate strong supply/demand imbalances.”

Brian Sedrish will join the joint venture as a managing director and serve as portfolio manager for the platform. Sedrish was previously head of acquisitions for the commercial real estate division (Special Situations) at Deutsche Bank.

Alex Popov, managing director at HPS, says, “This joint venture will combine our due diligence and established credit structuring capabilities with Related's 40-year track record in sourcing, developing, and managing real estate assets, to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities created by significant financing gaps in the residential and commercial real estate market.”

Justin Metz, managing principal of Related Fund Management, the firm's fund management platform, adds, “Together with HPS, we have identified an opportunity to capitalize on the demand for financing solutions and recapitalizations in the current market, and to make debt investments secured by non-income producing assets, which are not eligible for securitization.”