LJ Partnership takes ‘significant’ minor stake in Pradera
LJ Partnership, the London-based, privately-held multi-family office group with links to the Guggenheim family, said it has taken a “significant” minority stake in Pradera, a specialist retail property asset manager.
The precise size of the stake and other details of the transaction weren’t given.
LJ Partnership said it took the stake as a “long-term strategic investment”, citing the “potential for significant growth for Pradera in the retail sector, in new geographies, and from new family office clients”.
The collaboration “will enhance LJ Partnership’s presence in major European markets”, it added, in a statement.
On completion of the deal, Paul Whight will resign from the board of Pradera,ending an involvement with the company that began in late 1999, when he founded it with Colin Campbell. At the same time, two senior directors from LJ Partnership will be appointed to the Pradera board, the statement said.
It added that Pradera’s current management team, minus the departing Whight, “will retain full control of the company’s business strategy” and the day-to-day running of the business.
As a multi-family office, LJ Partnership looks after the interests and investments of an undisclosed number of individuals, family offices, foundations and charities. It currently holds what it says is a “substantial” privately-held real estate investment platform, and currently advises on a property portfolio worth around US$4bn.
Earlier this month, a company owned by the Yeung family – said to be one of Hong Kong’s richest families – said it had taken a 20% stake in LJ Partnership. The company, Peterson Group, said it planned to invest in residential, commercial and hospitality property assets in Europe and Asia alongside LJ, according to published reports at the time.
Pradera’s €2.3bn portfolio
Pradera manages a €2.3bn portfolio consisting of more than 50 shopping centres and retail parks in the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Turkey, which together accommodate more than 2,000 tenants.
It also manages assets on behalf of separate mandate clients, as well as investing with partners on a joint venture basis, according to its website.
In addition to London, it has offices in Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Istanbul, Prague and Warsaw, run by a total staff of around 70.
The proposed transaction has received regulatory approval and is expected to complete shortly, LP Partnership said.
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