Cairn Capital, which won a mandate from the Bank of England to advise it on the collateralised debt obligations market during the financial crisis, is turning its sights to European property.

Peter Hansell, a former managing director of Lehman Brothers' global real estate group and Cairn's head of real estate, is launching a property asset management business that will make strategic debt investments that trigger restructurings or recapitalisations in specific European markets.