Standard Bank and Java Capital team up on real estate capital raising and co-investment

Standard Bank and Java Capital have entered into a partnership to raise and structure capital for real estate, infrastructure and other real-asset investments in South Africa, as improving financing conditions begin to revive dealmaking in the sector.

The partnership brings together Standard Bank's financing capacity and client network with Java Capital's corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital markets expertise. It will target listed and unlisted property, private capital and infrastructure-related assets, with solutions spanning debt, equity, structured funding, capital raising and selected co-investments.

Justin Bothner, Standard Bank's head of investment banking in South Africa, said changing capital markets were forcing investors and companies to reconsider how transactions are structured. "As capital markets evolve, clients increasingly need partners who can combine strategic advice, execution certainty and access to capital," he said.

The collaboration comes as interest rates stabilise, property companies strengthen their balance sheets and discounts between listed property valuations and net asset values narrow, with M&A activity starting to return to the sector after a subdued period. Andrew Robinson, Standard Bank CIB's sector head of real estate, said the recovery was creating opportunities that would require funding beyond traditional sources. "Balance sheets have strengthened, financing conditions are stabilising, and there is renewed appetite for M&A and investment, but the capital required to unlock this next phase of growth can't only come from traditional sources," he said.

Java Capital founding director Andrew Brooking said the partnership would allow the two firms to combine advisory and funding capabilities around transactions, "closing any gaps between identifying an opportunity, structuring the right transaction, and securing the capital to execute."