Kildare Partners

Ellis Short, the firm's founder, is the principal decision-maker. He leads the investment committee, drawing on sourcing relationships and restructuring expertise developed over nearly two decades in European non-performing loan markets, including his prior role as President of European Investments at Lone Star Funds.

Kildare Partners shares no corporate ownership with Lone Star Funds but is closely tied through its DNA: founder Ellis Short previously served as Lone Star's President of Asia-Pacific and European Investments. The firm's strategy of acquiring non-performing loan portfolios and special-situation real estate directly extends the investment approach Short helped institutionalize during his tenure at Lone Star.

Kildare focuses on distressed and opportunistic real estate assets across Western Europe, principally non-performing loan portfolios secured by commercial and residential property, single-asset restructurings, and asset-backed special situations. Its deal history includes large-scale soured loan acquisitions from government agencies and European banks in Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Kildare primarily acquires non-performing and sub-performing loan portfolios at a discount to face value, then works through loan servicing, restructuring, and asset repossession to extract value. The firm will also take equity control of properties or development sites through the resolution process, rather than buying stabilized assets directly.

The firm raises capital from institutional limited partners through its European-focused closed-end commingled funds. Kildare European Partners II, which closed at roughly $1.1 billion in 2019, attracted commitments from North American and European pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments, as disclosed in public investor documents from the period.