ICG-Longbow has raised £1bn (€1.2bn) for its fourth real estate debt fund.
The UK Real Estate Debt Investments IV vehicle attracted £146m following the UK’s June referendum on membership of the European Union.
New and repeat institutional investors from UK, Europe and Asia backed the fund.
Martin Wheeler, co-head of ICG-Longbow, said: “We are very pleased to have received such strong support from the investor community throughout our fundraising and particularly in the immediate lead up to and aftermath of the EU referendum.”
He said the fundraising was a “signal of continuing confidence” in the UK commercial property market.
The fund is 33% larger than its predecessor fund and of a similar size to the combined total previously raised for the strategy.
The final close surpasses the £750m target size the firm set when it began fundraising in December 2014.
Eight transactions have been completed for the fund worth £597m, representing 60% of the fund.
The fund primarily focuses on self-originated whole loans secured against UK commercial property.
The fund can invest in mezzanine debt, preferred equity and joint venture equity, development loans or secondary loan acquisitions.
The strategy focuses on defensive mid-market assets across the UK, underpinned by resilient cashflows, with growth potential, while avoiding City of London offices and assets with cyclical cashflows.
The firm said that, given the uncertainty and market volatility in the run-up to and after the Brexit referendum, it had taken a cautious approach to investing in 2016.
It has deployed around £400m across all of its strategies over the year to date, around 40% less than in the same period in 2015.
“While we are maintaining a cautious approach to investing,” Wheeler said, “we are encouraged by the strong occupational demand that is evident in our investment portfolios, and our investment pipeline is showing an increase in attractive investment opportunities across our three strategies.”
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