Ares Management Corporation has raised €1.5bn for its latest value-add European property fund.
The alternative investment manager said the amount raised for Ares European Property Enhancement Partners III (EPEP III) exceeded the fund’s €1bn target and is more than twice the size of its 2016 predecessor fund.
Ares said EPEP III – which received capital commitments from investors from Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East – was backed by investors including public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, foundations, family offices and private banks. The fund was backed by new and existing investors.
As previously reported, EPEP III received capital commitments from the New Mexico State Investment Council, New York State Common Retirement Fund and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
EPEP III focuses on acquiring, income-producing assets that have the potential for value enhancement, invests across key property types in Europe, the manager said, adding that the fund has so far deployed over 30% to target logistics and residential assets.
Bill Benjamin, partner and head of the Ares Real Estate, said: “The strong investor support for this fund and our other real estate strategies has further bolstered our prominence in the market.
“We believe that the experience of our real estate team, our local market presence in Europe for over 25 years, as well as our positioning within the broader Ares platform delivers significant competitive advantages in our ability to source and execute compelling deal flow for the Fund and for our investors.”
Wilson Lamont, partner and co-head of European real estate equity in the Ares Real Estate group, said: “We are seeing a rapidly evolving opportunity set driven by the start of a new business cycle and unprecedented changes in real estate user preferences fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are encouraged by the investments that we have capitalized on to date and look forward to continuing to leverage our capabilities to source a portfolio of opportunities where we see attractive secular tailwinds.”
To read the digital edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
