Illinois State Universities Retirement System (SURS) has approved a commitment of €50m to Blackstone’s latest European opportunistic real estate fund.

The pension fund said it had approved the capital to Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe (BREP) VII. Illinois SURS’s investment depends on finalising a contract with the manager.

In August last year, IPE Real Assets reported that Blackstone had raised an initial $1.3bn for BREP VII at its first close. Blackstone also revealed it was seeking to raise around €10bn for BREP VII, a fund with a capital-raising target similar to the €9.8bn raised for the predecessor fund in 2020.

BREP VII expects to deliver returns exceeding its targetted 15% net and 20% gross returns. The fund’s investment strategy involves using leverage of around 70% as it invests in a mixture of debt and equity transactions.

Blackstone’s dedicated Europe opportunistic real estate fund series seeks to acquire under-managed, well-located assets across the continent.

To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.

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