A NEW joint venture company with €900 million of debt and equity to invest in distressed property assets was unveiled yesterday by Green Property.

Green, which owns Blanchardstown Town Centre, has joined forces with the US-based TPG Capital, one of the largest private equity firms globally, to target commercial real estate opportunities in Britain and Ireland.

Green TPG Partners said it would seek partnerships with government agencies and financial institutions to “help manage their exposure to the sector”. They would focus on opportunities where they could use their knowledge and track record to turn around underperforming assets through active management.

The new partnership is expected to pitch for some of the portfolios and insolvent properties destined for Nama.

Green TPG Partners is expected to concentrate initially on troubled portfolios in the UK. The timetable for disposals of similar assets in this State is still uncertain, but the new company is likely to concentrate on substantial investment opportunities in the greater Dublin area when available. Shopping centres are likely to be a the top of their wishlist.

The company may also opt for a joint venture arrangement with developers unable to fund the completion of retail and office schemes. Green Property chairman Stephen Vernon will serve as chairman and Green managing director Pat Gunne will be chief executive of the newly formed entity. Mr Vernon described the company as a “very powerful combination of capital and experience unlike any other in the market”.

TPG was founded in 1992 and has $48 billion of assets under management. Green’s investment portfolio has an annual rent roll of €100 million, half of it from the Blanchardstown Town Centre.