NBG Pangaea REIC announced the completion of a change in the shareholders' composition of Invel Real Estate Partners - which controls 65 pct of Pangaea - signalling the presence of two very important foreign investment funds in Greece.

According to Pangaea, the move also signals a change in the Greek and the European real estate market. The two new investors are Castlelake, a global investment fund managing more than 15 billion US dollars and Coller Capital, specialising in investments in the secondary market.

The entrance of these players in NBG Pangaea REIC, at a time when large foreign investments are necessary for the stabilisation of the Greek economy, is clearly a positive development and paves the way for a further development of Pangaea with a strong prospect of it becoming one of the largest real estate investment companies in Europe, the announcement said.

Christoforos Papachristoforou, founding member and head of Invel, commenting on the development said it was a vote of confidence in the Greek economy and proof that Pangaea is an extremely attractive platform.

The change in Invel's shareholders' base was made after the withdrawal of one of the company's limited partners - Israeli businessman Benny Steinmetz. The new investors will have an indirect stake of 49 pct in Pangaea, while, along with York Capital Management, Invel holds a 65 pct majority stake in Pangaea.