LONDON--U.K. asset manager Schroders PLC (SDR.LN) is in talks to enter the real-estate lending market in the latest example of a company moving into the funding gap created by the retrenchment of bank lending, the Financial Times reports Tuesday, citing unidentified sources.
The company is in the process of evaluating whether to launch a division to provide debt finance to property owners and developers, which would be operated as part of an existing property-owning business.
However, discussions are at an early stage and Schroders hasn't yet decided on the size of the lending platform, the paper adds.
The paper says that William Hill, Schroders' head of property, declined to comment but cited him as saying that "the withdrawal of the banks from the senior lending market has created a very interesting opportunity for alternative sources of capital to exploit."
A spokesman for Schroders wasn't immediately available to comment later Tuesday.
Insurers such as Legal & General PLC (LGEN.LN), AXA SA (CS.FR) and Aviva PLC (AV) have all boosted their lending operations recently.
Newspaper website: http://www.ft.com
-London Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9320
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 05, 2012 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT)
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