A PRIVATE investment trust has been set up to invest in distressed and undervalued real estate assets in the United States.

Launched by Horizon Trustees (Jersey), the Snowdon US Opportunity Trust will acquire undervalued, undercapitalised and mismanaged real estate for the purpose of improvement and re-sale. It is only being made available to known contacts, and no investment will be accepted from unknown parties. The trust expects to raise up to US$60 million of capital and to gain approximately US$120 to $180 million in assets.

The main focus will be property in the Sunbelt region of the south-west, and the trust will concentrate mainly on the housing market, but also on the commercial sector and the global gateway markets.
Horizon Group director David Francis said: ‘The property market in the United States offers attractive investment characteristics. With the reduction in leverage, diminished credit availability, and a softening in the economy, the market value of property is falling and this is expected to create considerable opportunity. It is likely that the US real estate market will offer some significant returns through investment in discounted high-quality properties.’