Tristan Capital Partners has started capital raising for its third pan-European fund, with the first close expected in April. The London-based fund manager is aiming to raise a total of EUR 500 mln for the fund which will focus on core plus investments across all sectors in the UK and continental Europe, CEO Ric Lewis told PropertyEU.

US private equity placement agent Jefferies & Co will assist in the capital raising.

Lewis conceded that the fund raising climate was still 'challenging', but pointed out that the core space, where the bulk of investment has headed since since the downturn, is now 'sufficiently crowded'. 'The pricing has changed, so there is more risk. Core plus is an uncrowded investment space and the fundamentals support it. The spreads between core and core plus are at a cyclical high and core plus is expected to outperform in a higher inflation environment.'