Probitas Partners Advises Benson Elliot in Closing Debut Fund

London-based Benson Elliot Capital Management ("BECM")
held a final close on EUR 335 million for its inaugural lower middle
market Pan-European private equity real estate fund, Benson Elliot
Real Estate Partners II, L.P., (the "Fund"). The initial target for
the Fund was EUR 300 million. BECM, formed in late 2005 by Marc
Mogull, engaged Probitas Partners, a global alternative investment
services and fund placement firm, as his exclusive financial advisor
for the formation of the Fund and its institutional placement.
"The Fund represents the best of a new generation of teams being
formed by successful general partners who, like Marc, have an array of
career choices but who chose to create independent firms with
outstanding teams and a long-term commitment to their investors,"
added Michael Hoffmann, President and co-founder of Probitas Partners.
"We are thrilled to have partnered with Marc and his team on building
this exciting new franchise."
Marketing and fundraising efforts were launched in April of 2006,
and the Fund quickly closed on over EUR 200 million in just six weeks.
Following the additions of senior professionals, the Fund gained
broader interest from the institutional investment community and had
its final closing in August of 2006 with total commitments of EUR 335
million, well above the EUR 300 million target. The Fund has twenty
institutional investors, from Europe, North America, and the Middle
East. The group includes corporate pension funds, foundations,
endowments, family offices and fund of funds.
BECM, as an independent platform, is committed to continue the
investment approach established and employed by Mr. Mogull over the
past twenty years in Europe. The Fund will make investments in real
estate assets across Europe that offer the potential for superior
risk-adjusted returns through active and innovative investment
management. The Fund will acquire completed properties, as well as
funding development, primarily in the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy,
France and Central Europe. Mr. Mogull has attracted top talent with a
shared vision for investing and firm structure, along with the support
of a core group of institutional investors.
Mr. Mogull commented on the recent closing, "I'm excited by the
prospect of establishing my own business and replicating previous
success with this new Fund. With the support of our cornerstone
investors, and what I believe is the best professional team in the
business, we can create the leading mid-market private equity real
estate platform in Europe. This firm and Fund reflect our vision of
how the real estate private equity industry needs to evolve to meet
future challenges -- management owned, sensibly sized, and with the
interests of the Fund's investors, the firm and the team aligned."
BECM is authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Services
Authority in the conduct of its investment business.

About Probitas Partners

Probitas Partners, founded in 2001, is an employee-owned,
independent provider of alternative investment solutions,
headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York and London
(Probitas Partners is represented in the United Kingdom by PFG-UK
Ltd., which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority). Its integrated global practice includes placement of
private equity funds, portfolio management and liquidity management.
For more information please visit www.probitaspartners.com or call
(415) 402-0700.