NEW YORK, December 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaw Capital Partners USA is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashish Gupta as Senior Vice President for Acquisitions. Mr. Gupta will be based in the soon-to-be opened New York City office and is responsible for US investments for the firm, with a focus on projects located on the east coast and other select knowledge- and innovation-based markets such as Austin, Texas.
Most recently, Mr. Gupta was a Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers where he was responsible for overseeing the restructuring, asset management and monetization of a portfolio of debt and equity positions collateralized by approximately 30 million square feet of office space across several major US markets. Through restructurings and recapitalizations that had entailed third-party owned debt buybacks, joint venture partner buyouts, loan modifications, the arrangement of new funding facilities and change of control actions, Mr. Gupta created value in complicated and distressed situations and delivered an estimated $2.5 billion recovery to Lehman.
Prior to that, Mr. Gupta completed over $17 billion in property- and entity-level acquisitions in the US on behalf of a balance sheet equity product at Lehman.
Gaw Capital Partners USA is the new entity of Gaw Capital Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity real estate fund management company with a strong geographic focus on Greater China and the Asian real estate markets in the past. Gaw Capital Partners currently manages four real estate funds targeting the Greater China and Asia Pacific region, while Gaw Capital Partners USA provides services for separate account direct investment and private equity real estate fund management in the US and UK markets. Earlier this year, Timothy Walsh, the former Chief Investment Officer and director of New Jersey Division of Investment, New Jersey's USD$ 74 billion pension fund, also joined Gaw Capital Partners USA as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Walsh will oversee US operations and increase the firm's investments in US real estate.
"I am pleased to join Gaw Capital during this exciting phase in its evolution," said Ashish Gupta. "I look forward to helping build on the success of our widely-respected operations in Asia and delivering exceptional returns in the US through investment in under-managed and under-capitalized assets."
Gaw Capital Partners USA, together with its associate Downtown Properties, is currently managing a US club vehicle with more than $868 million asset under management in 10 investments with a projected IRR of more than 20%. In the last three years, Gaw Capital and Downtown Properties have also assisted strategic Asian institutional investors in seven separate account direct investments. Notable transactions include 333 Market Street in San Francisco in 2010, Three First National Plaza in Chicago in 2011, Vintners' Place in London in 2012, the Lloyd's building in London in 2013 and Waterside House Paddington London in 2013. The firm plans on raising a US Fund with a special angle at creative office and creative hospitality redevelopments in urban locations.
Goodwin Gaw, Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, commented, "We are happy to welcome Ashish to our growing family. He has deep transactional experience in many facets of real estate investing and lending and I am grateful for his confidence in our platform to make this important move to us."
About Gaw Capital Partners
Gaw Capital Partners is a uniquely positioned private equity fund management company that focuses in real estate markets in greater China and other high barrier-to-entry markets.
Specialising in adding strategic value to under-utilised real estate through redesign and repositioning, the firm's investments span the entire spectrum of real estate sectors, including residential development, commercial offices, retail malls, serviced apartments, and hotels. Gaw Capital Partners runs an integrated business model with its own in-house asset management operating platforms in retail, hospitality and property development.
Gaw Capital Partners currently manages four real estate funds targeting the Greater China and Asia Pacific region, while the newly-created Gaw Capital Partners USA provides services for separate account direct investment and private equity real estate fund management in the US and UK markets. Gaw Capital Partners has raised equity in excess of US$3.567 billion since 2005 and currently commands assets of US$ 7.466 billion under management encompassing residential developments, retails centers, hotels and commercial properties.
