Los Angeles-based Karlin Real Estate has opened its first overseas office in London, England as part of the firm’s strategy to invest up to £600 million ($1 billion) in commercial real estate assets in Europe through both its debt and equity platforms, announced, Managing Director Matt Schwab.
The office is headed by Joseph Self, who will be responsible for growing the firm’s existing 600,000-square-foot European portfolio. Self, who joined Karlin in 2010, has played an instrumental role in the firm’s overall growth having been involved in a variety of opportunistic acquisitions and financings throughout the United States with an aggregate value in excess of $500 million. Self will be joined in the London office by associate Gregg Yamauchi.
Karlin Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Los Angeles-based Karlin Asset Management, marked its entry into the European commercial real estate market in August 2013 with the £16 million acquisition of a 169,931-square-foot office building in Peterborough, UK. Karlin added to its European portfolio with the acquisition of a distribution building leased to Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. in Ellesmere Port and an office building in Solihull, which is fully leased to The Paragon Group of Companies. The separate transactions totaled approximately £18 million.
“An office in London was critical for the growth of both our equity and debt platforms in Europe,” said David A. Cohen, Karlin Asset Management’s CEO. “We are extremely pleased with the performance our of acquisitions in the UK and are now looking more closely at assets in Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Ireland. In addition we will also be looking for opportunities in which we can provide senior and mezzanine financing for the acquisition or recapitalization of transitional assets in those markets,” he added.
