OREANDA-NEWS. The Townsend Group, a leading provider of global investment management solutions focused on real estate and real assets, today announced an investment in a KKR-sponsored and managed, Non-Bank Finance Company (NBFC) in India. This real estate sector focused NBFC, which includes Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC as a lead investor, provides credit solutions for property developers, filling the capital gap and contributing to the continued development of India’s residential and commercial real estate sectors. Townsend believes this to be a unique investment opportunity, within select emerging markets, that seeks to benefit from the lack of long-term capital and strong urbanization trends. The NBFC will engage in senior-secured lending to the fast growing Indian real estate market. Prashant Tewari, Principal of The Townsend Group, said, “Townsend is excited to invest alongside GIC in the KKR managed real estate lending platform. The strong secular demand for middle market housing requires innovative credit solutions and long-term capital. The KKR NBFC platform provides our clients a thoughtful framework to execute in India and a strong investment partner with specialized, local market and property expertise.” Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India, “In addition to GIC, we are pleased to have Townsend investors join the shareholder group of our real estate NBFC in India. This additional long term capital allows the real estate NBFC to better fulfill a critical market need by assisting developers with solutions best suited to their needs. KKR continues the strategic build out of its real estate financing platform, leveraging its local and global real estate expertise in structuring and underwriting real estate solutions.” The Townsend Group is a leading provider of global investment management solutions focused on real estate, infrastructure, timber and agriculture. With a culture based upon service and success measured by investment performance, Townsend’s clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors. As of December 31, 2014, Townsend had assets under management of approximately $12.5 billion and provided advisory services to clients who had real estate/real asset allocations exceeding $170.0 billion.