The real estate finance advisory has two primary areas of business focus-Capital Structuring Advisory for Local Developers and Strategic Investment Advisory for Capital Investors.
Capital Structuring Advisory for Local Developers
The developers seeking to secure capital to fund development projects or other real estate initiatives need to understand the investment needs and/or targets of the developer. The advisory is needed to assist the developer in the formulation of business objectives in terms of capital funding, divestment, attracting third party investors, and forming strategic partnerships with key market players. The Finance advisors present the developer with a range of capital structuring options for both debt financing and/or equity participation, including inter alia: Joint ventures, Direct investments, private equity placements, IPO’s, Collective investment schemes, Bridge financing, managing debt and refinancing via the capital markets.
The finance advisor is also needed to provide expertise in preparing the underlying financial, property and real estate data to match the investment strategy of the potential co-sponsors. This includes, inter alia identifying projects with the highest investment potential, assimilating market/sector specific information, highlighting key strength and return opportunities.
The sound finance advisor offers market leading financial modeling techniques to assess the economic viability of a project. This will include applying a scenario based analysis to test the financial robustness of a transaction under current as well as potential future market conditions.
The finance advisor is also supposed to identify and highlight potential market and investment risks (such as the impact of existing senior ranking claims or future potential tax liabilities) and presenting the developer with viable financial and/ or structural solutions. Liaising with the key market players from the capital investor side (property companies, private equity funds, institutional investors) to identify compatible investment alliances is also a key role. One must support a transaction from the very early stages of data preparation through to legal structuring and finally to signing/closing with the objective of achieving the optimum investment solution associated with any specific transaction.
Strategic Investment Advisory for Capital Investors
With regard to investors looking to access real estate investment opportunities the scope of services include understanding current investment needs and/or targets of the investors, introduce the local market fundamentals, providing strategic expertise regarding new markets, sectors and/or products and help the investor identify and assess potential investment opportunities. Present investors with a range of market entry strategies (e.g. joint ventures, direct investments, collective schemes) which are consistent with investment objectives. One must identify and highlight potential market and investment risks (such as the impact of existing senior ranking claims or future potential tax liabilities) and present the investor with viable financial and/ or structural solutions that match their investment strategy. A Finance Advisor will also liaise with key local market players (operators and property developers) to find the optimum investment alliance, and support a transaction from inception to completion in order to ensure the optimum strategic outcome from the perspective on an investor.
