Commercial real estate lender MaxCap Group is planning to raise A$250m (€171m) for its second unlisted wholesale equity fund.

The Melbourne-based manager has raised an initial A$125m at first close for MaxCap Diversified Opportunity Fund (MDOF) and expects to raise a further A$125m in a second tranche fundraising during the third quarter of this year.

MDOF was designed to give investors an opportunity to gain exposure to Australian real estate development and value-add opportunities through joint venture partnerships with developers, Simon Hulett, MaxCap’s head of direct investment said.

Hulett said that, currently, MDOF had secured three developments in Melbourne and Brisbane.

“We are currently in exclusive due diligence on four further opportunities that would take the capital allocated to more than A$120m,” he said.

“This vehicle is seeking investment opportunities through a range of equity and high-yielding debt structures,” Hulett said.

MDOF is a closed-ended 5-year fund targetting a risk-adjusted return to investors of 18%. 

MaxCap’s first unlisted wholesale equity fund, MaxCap Industrial Opportunity Fund raised more than A$100m, which had been deployed in five industrial and land assets and was currently forecast to return investors in excess of 20%, he said.

A previous version of this story incorrectly said MaxCap had already raised A$250m for MaxCap Diversified Opportunity Fund. The manager raised A$125m initially and plans to raise a further A$125m in a second tranche fundraising during the third quarter of this year.

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