New York headquartered Candriam Group has agreed to purchase an additional 31% interest in pan-European real estate investment manager Tristan Capital Partners, taking its total investment to 80% by mid-2023.

The remaining 20% of Tristan will continue to be held by its senior team, ensuring the long-term alignment of interests and continued incentivisation of its growing team, Candriam said in a statement on 14 February. 

Tristan, which manages over €15bn of assets for institutional and private investors, will maintain investment management autonomy as it has done for the past five years, while benefiting from the operating and financial resources, distribution network and scale of both Candriam and New York Life Investments. 

There will be no changes to the firm's investment process or investment strategies.   

There will also be no changes to Tristan's management leadership, the statement further said. Ric Lewis will continue as executive chair of Tristan, chair of the investment committee, and chair of the holding company. 

Ian Laming will continue as CEO; and Cameron Spry and Ric Lewis will continue as co-CIOs. 

The transaction is in alignment with Candriam's growth strategy to further expand its private assets offering through this partnership given strong institutional investor demand and long-term growth trends. Candriam's multi-specialist capabilities include investment solutions in sustainable investments, fixed income, equities, asset allocation, absolute return strategies, private credit, and real estate.  

Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of Candriam and Chairman of New York Life Investment Management International, said: "Tristan has built a successful business since launching in 2009 while establishing a strong market presence and an impressive track record across European markets.

"Our shared core values and culture have served to strengthen our partnership over the past five years, over which time Tristan has grown its assets under management from EUR 7 billion to over EUR 15 billion. We are excited to support Tristan in its next phase of growth."   

Ric Lewis, founder, executive chairman and Co-CIO of Tristan Capital Partners, added: "Tristan, Candriam, and New York Life Investments first entered into a strategic partnership five years ago.

"During this time, we have built a powerful alliance based on mutual respect and the understanding of the importance of preserving Tristan's entrepreneurial culture, investment philosophy, and discipline. This next step is a testament to the success of our partnership to date."  

"Our business is well positioned for growth ahead of the next European real estate cycle; we completed our largest ever capital raise in our latest opportunistic fund, we've successfully diversified the business to include debt strategies, and we have dry powder across all our fund series. This investment will help to facilitate our growth as we look to expand the opportunity set for our clients, people, and partners over the coming years."