Brookfield Asset Management has taken a meaningful step towards offering investors further access to specific real estate regions and across the risk-spectrum.
The north American company has launched a pan-European open-ended real estate fund that focuses on core property, according to those that know the company.
It is the first time Brookfield Asset Management has organised and marketed to investors a Europe-specific real estate vehicle in its long history.
The Europe fund follows the launch of an open-ended real estate fund in the US and Australia, as the company focuses on cultivating and encouraging investors to align with Brookfield across different risk strategies in varied regions.
Fundraising giant
Brookfield Asset Management has over $515 bn (€455 bn) of AUM across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power, private equity and credit. Within that it manages $201 bn (€178 bn) of real estate.
It is second only to Blackstone in the amount of equity it has raised for higher risk/return real estate strategies in recent years. Last year, it closed on $15 bn (€13 bn) for a global real estate opportunity fund, a record for the company.
Its previous flagship funds have delivered annual yields in the low 20% range and the company has said it is focusing on more high-quality real estate in top markets. It also mentioned looking closely at REITs whose shares might be trading at significant discounts to net asset value. At the end of May this year, it disclosed it had taken a 7.31% stake in British Land plc, one of the best-known public property companies in the UK.
Brookfield also revealed last month that it plans to invest $5 bn in a retail rescue fund called the Retail Revitalisation Program to ‘bring much needed capital and assist with the recapitalisation of retail businesses,’ with operations in the major markets Brookfield operates in globally.
Europe real estate
The company manages €30 bn of real estate in Europe, three quarters of which is office property, with the remainder being hotels and residential.
Last year, it bought and sold around €800 mln of assets in the region.
PropertyEU sources suggested as long as 18 months ago that a plan was in the pipeline for a Europe-specific fund.
The company declined to comment on fundraising activities, but a few days ago it filed with the US SEC notice of Brookfield European Real Estate Partnership incorporated in Luxembourg. It is thought the vehicle is a different entity but related to Brookfield Premier Real Estate Partners Europe that has been registered in the UK.
The company’s real estate business is headed by Brian Kingston, who joined in 2001. Key acquisitions during his tenure include investments in Forest City Realty Trust, General Growth Properties and Canary Wharf in the UK.
Last year, the firm acquired a majority interest in Oaktree, also a significant investor in real estate in Europe.
