Lederer Family Office asserts control of Elanor fund

A family office has taken substantial control of the Elanor Commercial Property Fund via an off-market takeover offer.

The Lederer Family Office announced on Tuesday it had secured 42.68% of the Elanor fund as part of an “emergency offer”.

Lederer Family Office chair, Paul Lederer said the emergency offer had been launched “following disappointment with Elanor’s handling of multiple efforts we made to persuade the Board of ECF to take action to protect the interests of all ECF investors”.

“The distraction of the Rockworth recapitalisation was the final straw. As the approximately 43% securityholder in ECF, we believe we are now in a position to drive the necessary changes that will benefit all ECF investors,” he said in a public statement.

“Over the course of this Offer we have spoken to many existing ECF investors, who have overwhelmingly expressed their concerns about the ongoing underperformance of ECF and the excessive level of fees paid to the Elanor Group. Like many of those we spoke to, we are dismayed by the actions of the Elanor Group Board and the ECF directors (the same people) and will vigorously oppose any plans that are not aligned with the best interests of all ECF securityholders.

“We will hold them accountable for any future mismanagement of the fund and we will investigate the level of fees that have been paid to Elanor over the last five years and identify how much investor capital has been spent in an attempt to entrench Elanor as the manager in priority to the interests of ECF securityholders.

“It’s time for a new start for ECF, one where the interests of investors are always put ahead of the interests of the Manager. As the largest securityholder in ECF, we are ready to move beyond the chaos that has followed Elanor over the last 12 months, and re-set the business alongside our partners.”