Press 01

It was disclosed that real estate fund management company GLOVANCE transferred part of its business to ATLAS PARTNERS, a private company in the same business. GLOVANCE filed for court protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Law in May. ATLAS took over eight funds managed by GLOVANCE and also employed ten of its employees.

ATLAS took over funds with a total AUM of a little less than 70 billion yen (US$ 628 million), including "region-specific funds" that focus on specific regions.

GLOVANCE submitted a restructuring plan with a focus on this business transfer to the courts on September 1 and plans to hold a creditors meeting in October.

ATLAS was established in 2003 and was registered as an investment management company under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law in May 2008. The company mainly handles asset management for overseas institutional investors that invest in Japanese real estate properties.

Its clients include the SOCIETE GENERALE GROUP of France, BOUBYAN BANK of Kuwait and a Singapore REIT formed by MACARTHUR COOK of Australia.

ATLAS had 28 employees and an AUM of roughly 60 billion yen, but now has 38 employees and an AUM of about 130 billion yen following its takeover of the business from GLOVANCE.

"We used to have business relations with GLOVANCE and made small investments in its funds. The region-specific funds were established in response to demand from those regions. We decided to take over the eight funds considering their influence on local economies and investors," said Mikihisa Hirai, president of ATLAS.