LONDON-Madison International Realty, based in New York City, has opened its first office here, and has hired Sean Kelly-Rand as the director, to secure opportunities with UK and Ireland-based investors. Kelly-Rand is a former European-based executive with Lehman Bros.
“We felt that it was the appropriate time to expand, as we are experiencing heightened demand from existing core real estate investors for the kind of exit strategies we offer,” says Ronald Dickerman, Madison founder and president.
The company provides equity capital to real estate owners and investors seeking to provide an exit strategy for their existing investors, de-lever their properties or who wish to monetize a portion of their ownership position. The firm invests only in secondary transactions as principals on behalf of its private equity funds, with more than $1 billion in capital commitments. “We’re basically professional substitute investors,” Dickerman says.
He says London is an example of the high-quality, 24-7 market that the firm likes to invest in. “We made two investments in London already,” Dickerman says. The local work includes a recent $38.6 million investment, representing a 17.5% interest, in the 10-story Devonshire House office building in the West End area. Madison provided liquidity to an existing limited partner seeking to sell down a portion of the $125 million held on its balance sheet.
The company is also seeking to take on interests held by Irish investors, after bank failure in the country has paralyzed developers and owners. “We’re meeting with a significant number of Irish investors in Dublin who want to exit joint ownership structures,” Dickerman tells GlobeSt.com.
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