Real estate investor Papalekas raises EUR 54 mln on London Stock Exchange with fund targeting Romanian properties

The investment fund Globalworth Real Estate Investments, created and controlled by Ioannis Papalekas, an active investor in Romanian real estate, recently raised EUR 53.6 million via the listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The fund, which targets investments in Romania, South Eastern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, issued 10.7 million of shares at the price of EUR 5 per share, and invested EUR 15 in the initial public offering. After the stock exchange listing, Papalekas, which used to fully control the fund prior the listing, had a share package of 28 percent, while the new investors in the fund were Union Bancaire Privee with 24.82 percent, FINEXT Fund Management (Futureal 2 Global) with 3.73 percent, Pictet & Cie, Banquiers with 7.74 percent, and Migdal Stock Exchange Services (N.E.) Ltd. with 27.95 percent. In Romania, Papalekas is currently among the most active real estate investors, having acquired the former City Mall shopping center – a formerly distressed asset which is on its way to become a hospital – and the office towers Cathedral Plaza and Tower Center, both projects blocked because of litigation. Globalworth is currently in the process of acquiring an identified portfolio of nine assets, eight in Bucharest and one in Timisoara, and an asset manager platform in Romania, according to its website. The fund's board of directors is made of Ioannis Papalekas, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Dimitris Raptis, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Miller, Non-Executive Director, Interim Chairman of the Board, and Eli Alroy, David Kanter and John Whittle, all three non-executive directors. The fund's investment focus will be on distressed investments, with a primary focus on Romania, acquisition of unfinished or partially-let commercial buildings at prices below replacement cost, restructuring, developments with pre-lettings from high quality tenants, and arbitrage opportunities - acquisition of properties which by securing multinational tenants on long triple-net leases can create an arbitrage between the acquisition yield and the cost of structured financing. editor@romania-insider.com