13th Sep 2006 07:04
Charlemagne Capital Limited13 September 2006 13 September 2006 Charlemagne Capital launches new East European private equity property company Charlemagne Capital Limited ("Charlemagne", or the "Group") announces theclosure of its new specialist private equity property fund, European ConvergenceDevelopment Company ("ECDC"), having raised €30 million via a private placing. ECDC is a private company and intends to list on the AIM market of the LondonStock Exchange in 2007. Funds raised thus far by ECDC will be co-investedalongside partner developers in property projects in the target markets ofBulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Opportunities for capital gains will be sought inresidential, office and retail projects. Over the last year there has been asignificant increase in the presence of institutional investors seekingcompleted property projects in the target countries. The projects ECDC willinvest in will have a 2-3 year life span before they will be sold on. This is the second specialist private equity real estate company launched byCharlemagne Capital, following the listing of the European Convergence PropertyCompany plc (''ECPC'') on AIM in June 2005 which raised €60m of capital. ECPCwas established to take advantage of opportunities that exist in the propertyinvestment makets of South-East Europe, in particular Turkey, Bulgaria andRomania by investing in high yielding completed property projects. ECPC isintended to have a seven year life and it is anticipated that it will be fullyinvested by early 2007. It has invested €112 million through a combination ofequity and debt in its first year of operation. Charlemagne Capital's specialist funds strategy is to remain focused onexploiting opportunistic valuation anomalies as and when they arise. The Grouphas focused its efforts on growing the existing specialist funds where possible,developing structured products and establishing further private equityinvestments in financial services and property. Jayne Sutcliffe, Chief Executive commented: "The successful private placing for the ECDC represents another milestone forCharlemagne Capital's private equity team. Our knowledge, track record andexpertise of the fast growing property markets in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkeyshould enable ECDC to leverage the attractive yields and anticipated capitalappreciation in these markets in the run up to and following EU accession." Enquiries: Charlemagne Capital Tel. 020 7518 2100Jayne Sutcliffe, Chief ExecutiveDavid Curl, Finance Director & Head of Investment Smithfield Consultants Tel. 020 7360 4900John KielyGeorge Hudson This announcement is not for publication or distribution to persons in theUnited States of America, its territories or possessions or to any US person(within the meaning of Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933, asamended). Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken ortransmitted into Australia, Canada or Japan or to Canadian persons or to anysecurities analyst or other person in any of those jurisdictions. Any failure tocomply with this restriction may constitute a violation of United States,Australian, Canadian or Japanese securities law. The distribution of thisannouncement in other jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons intowhose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about andobserve any such restrictions. Notes to Editors: Charlemagne Capital is a specialist emerging markets equity investmentmanagement group. Charlemagne Capital Limited was admitted to the AIM market ofthe London Stock Exchange on 4 April 2006. Charlemagne's product range comprises mutual funds, hedge funds andinstitutional and specialist fund products primarily covering GEMs, EasternEurope, Latin America and Asia. Charlemagne Capital employs a range ofinvestment strategies including: long only, long/short, structured products andprivate equity. Charlemagne Capital's funds aim to exploit the inefficiencies inthe market via a strict bottom up approach and focused stock selection. Through the strong long-term investment performance track record of itsprincipal funds, Charlemagne Capital has established itself as a market leaderin emerging markets investment management. Its performance has been recognisedthrough numerous awards and top rankings for its funds, including the 2005Standard and Poor's 5-year best performing fund award in Austria, the 2006 SwissLipper Leaders 5-year award winner for Emerging Markets Europe and an AAA-ratingby Standard & Poor's for its Magna Eastern European Fund (a sub-fund of MagnaUmbrella Fund Plc). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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