Irish Investment Firm's €725m European Property Strategy

Opportunities in the European commercial property market are to be seized by a leading Irish investment firm, according to reports.

Quinlan Private (QP) has reportedly raised over €725m for the new 'Quinlan Private European Strategic Real Estate Fund', €400m of which was generated in the US, with the rest coming from Irish and UK investors.

Over half of the capital has been invested in property ventures across parts of western Europe, as well as regions in central and eastern Europe, which are currently experiencing high growth

Olan Cremin, Quinlan’s Chief Executive, told the Irish Independent: "We have a strong pipeline of investment opportunities, and expect the fund will be fully invested during 2008."

"Our ability to deploy capital quickly and effectively demonstrates the quality of our transaction teams and their ability to identify attractive opportunities in varying market conditions," the Chief Executive added.

A report published this week, by global property consultants Cushman & Wakefield, identified how the European commercial property market is suffering from the current financial crisis.

There was a 37% decline in the value of investment across the continents during the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007.

Quinlan Private owns assets worth €11bn, including 47 Marriott hotels in the UK, which it acquired last year in a joint deal with Igal Ahouvi, an Israeli property group, an agreement said to be valued at €1.4bn.

(PR)