UCG Investments, an investment management firm operating from London, Montevideo and Lima which manages over USD750m of real assets in Latin America, has held the first close of its latest private equity fund, Cypanga Latin American Opportunities.
UCGI raised USD25m over a six-week fund raising period from a number of European blue-chip institutions and family offices.
Cypanga Latin American Opportunities is an open-ended investment fund with a mandate to invest in greenfield projects and operating companies in the agricultural, energy, forestry, infrastructure and real estate sectors, primarily in Uruguay, Peru and Colombia. UCGI is the investment management arm of the Union Group, an investor in Latin America with experts in natural resources and infrastructure.
Other mandates managed by UCGI include a Special Situations fund, which, since its launch in 2009, has delivered cumulative returns of over 150 per cent.
Francisco Roque de Pinho (pictured), chief executive of UCGI, says: “Our ability to launch a new fund in a challenging capital raising environment underlines the continuing appeal of the region as a prime investment destination. In addition, the quality of investors that we attracted, and the fact that we were able to raise equity for Cypanga so quickly, is a testament to the UCGI track record and the wider investment and operational expertise of the Union Group.”
