Velle Capital lanza Aude para financiar inmuebles complejos

Velle Capital has unveiled a new funding platform called Aude Alternative Lending to address a very specific gap in the real estate market. The platform aims to provide credit for complex transactions, such as auctions, knockout sales, and occupied properties. In the latter case, Aude will offer financing not just for purchase, but also to property owners who have illegally occupied a residence and wish to recover part of their invested capital while resolving legal proceedings or reaching an agreement with occupants.

Initially, Aude will only lend to businesses and professionals, pending registration as a lender with the Bank of Spain for private individuals. The company plans to launch operationally by the end of September, with Velle Capital and private investors providing the initial capital, including an Spanish family office connected to former renewable energy sector shareholders.

Aude's goal is to raise approximately 50 million euros in 2027. Founded by Peralta, who previously held leadership positions at Santander, Bain Capital, and Cerberus, Velle Capital began operating as an independent platform focused on distressed investments and asset management with a focus on non-performing loans secured by real estate (NPLS) and foreclosed assets (REOs) a year ago.

Besides Peralta in the capital, there are several minority shareholders, including a family office, and Alfonso Manuel Sánchez González, a former CaixaBank executive, who joins the project as a corporate development partner for both Velle Capital and Aude. Aude will initially focus on medium-sized transactions of 50,000 to 75,000 euros, although it can finance smaller and larger amounts as well.

The average value of underlying transactions in the market is approximately 100,000 euros. There are thousands of potential transactions of relatively small amounts that, individually, do not attract institutional capital, but collectively form a significant market, in which Aude feels comfortable operating. According to Peralta, the lack of specialized credit has been due mainly to three reasons: the operational complexity of the underlying assets, the granularity of ticket sizes, and the structure of guarantees.

Aude aims to accompany investors to increase their options and improve the returns on their capital. The market potential for financing associated with these types of complex asset transactions, such as those Aude will fund, is estimated at around 2,000 million euros, only counting the stock of occupied properties, knockout sales, and the annual flow of real estate auctions.

Additionally, there is an untapped market potential that the platform conservatively estimates at three to four times this volume, driven primarily by occupied properties that are not traded on open markets and the portfolios of non-performing loans whose collateral will eventually be the subject of auctions or seizures.