SVP picks Lloyds banker for advisory council

Strategic Value Partners (SVP), an alternative investment firm that specialises in distressed opportunities, has appointed Ian Guthrie to its advisory council, according to a statement from the firm.

Guthrie joins from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was most recently managing director of the bank’s real estate business support unit. He was responsible for managing part of the non-core real estate portfolio, and was also a member of the real estate executive committee of Lloyds’ non-core bank.

Guthrie has 25 years of banking experience and has overseen more than £20 billion (€28 billion; $31 billion) of transactions across a number of asset classes, SVP said. Prior to Lloyds he held several roles at Halifax Bank of Scotland, including head of impaired assets, head of equity origination and head of integrated partnerships.

Guthrie joins three other advisory council members in Europe: Sir David Cooksey, former Chairman of the UKFI; Professor Dr. Bernd Farholz, former CEO of Dresdner Bank; and José Barreiro, former Global Head of Investment Banking at BBVA.

Last month SVP hired former 3i Group director Anthony O’Carroll as an operating director shortly after losing senior operating director Johan van de Steen, who left the firm in December to become head of portfolio at Renova Management in Zurich.

SVP is currently investing its third special situations fund, which closed on $1.31 billion in December 2014 having overshot its $1 billion target. Total investment capital for the strategy will be $1.56 billion including a $250 million capacity reserve for a fund of one LP relationship, PEI reported previously.