Hong Kong-based private credit manager SC Lowy has completed a $250-million investment in a luxury residential project in the upmarket Gangnam district of Seoul, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The alternative asset management firm, which has nine offices across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe, contributed $150 million from its managed funds and syndicated the remaining capital across 22 South Korean institutional investors.
“The transaction represents a landmark short-term bridge financing deal in one of Asia’s most sought-after residential markets,” said the firm.
The deal showcases SC Lowy’s local partnerships and expertise in structuring complex regional transactions in the private credit space, where the firm has deployed a total of $4.8 billion globally since its inception in 2009, according to its website.
“This transaction is a testament to both the depth of Korea’s institutional market and the confidence our partners place in our structuring and syndication capabilities,” said Soo Cheon Lee, co-founder and chief investment officer (CIO) of SC Lowy.
The deal coincides with SC Lowy’s ongoing fundraising for its third Asia-Pacific private credit vintage, SC Lowy Strategic Investments IV, which is on track to surpass its $500-million target by the end of 2025, the firm said.
SC Lowy first announced the fundraising plan in February, when Lee told Bloomberg that the fund is targeting net returns of about 14-15%.
The third fund plans to invest approximately two-thirds of its dry powder in senior secured facilities, 15% in second-lien loans, and 15% in mezzanine debt, according to the co-founder. It specialises in direct primary lending in the APAC region, targeting projects and companies that lack access to traditional sources of capital.
“We continue to see good opportunities in Korea and India, followed by Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and opportunistically Southeast Asia,” said Lee, who also serves as SC Lowy’s co-global portfolio manager.
Founded in 2009 by Michel Lowy and Soo Cheon Lee, SC Lowy is a privately-held asset management firm investing across the full credit spectrum, focusing on opportunistic corporate credit within liquid and illiquid non-investment grade markets.
The firm manages $1.5 billion of limited partner capital deployed across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe, alongside $1.8 billion in permanent low-cost capital through two licensed deposit-taking challenger banks in South Korea and Italy dedicated to meeting the credit needs of underbanked small and medium-sized enterprises.
