ActivumSG (ASG) has closed its latest fund with a record €489 mln of capital commitments, PropertyEU can reveal.
ASG, which was established in 2007 to invest in niche opportunities in European real estate related sectors, is set to announce the capital haul later today, confirming ActivumSG Fund V as the largest equity raise to date by ASG’s family of five value-add funds.
Some 55% of the equity raised for ActivumSG Fund V came from previous ASG fund investors ‘re-upping’, meaning about 45% came from new investors, some of which hail from territories that are new to the firm’s investor base.
Speaking with PropertyEU and its weekly news title, EuroProperty, ASG’s founder and managing partner, Saul Goldstein, said, ‘Our capital is now much more diversified’.
The fund focuses on building up corporate platforms and other indirect paths to gain exposure to 'attractive' real estate market investment themes, rather than pursuing a conventional property investment route.
'We’ve adapted our strategy because direct real estate markets are so competitive,' commented Saul Goldstein, ASG’s founder and managing partner.
'Taking the indirect route allows us to avoid the herd and get exposure to strong investment themes through corporate purchases or mezzanine finance. If we cannot find the right platform that we can scale up, we build it ourselves – as we have done with ASG Homes to seize Spain’s compelling residential development opportunities.'
First close for Fund V occurred in October 2017 and more than €200 mln of equity has been committed to investments so far, all of which are located in Germany and Spain where it is currently focussed.
News of the final close comes just hours after the company announced its latest acquisition – that of Germany’s Fairvesta Group, a fund platform for retail investors with approximately €800 mln of managed assets.
Fund
This is the 11th investment on behalf of Fund V, the others being mezzanine financing for various developments in Berlin as well as residential development and land purchases in Spain.
It has made investments in Sierra Blanca in Marbella, Parque Central in Estepona, Victoria in Salamanca, Berlin Brewery in Berlin, Dahlem in Berlin, and No 1 in Berlin.
As well as direct property investments, the company makes private equity-style investments as is the case with Fairvesta, and previously Instone Real Estate through the merger of Formart and GRK as well as one of the largest retirement home developers in Germany, WI Immo.
Fund V was more drawn out than its Fund III, which was raised in just six months, but the final tally for Fund V is significantly higher.
Fund I and Fund II raised €56 mln and €248 mln in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Fund III closed in March 2014 at €380 mln. Furthermore, Iberia Fund I closed in July 2015 at €200 mln.
ASG opened its Madrid office in 2014 and has built up a team of 24 mostly focused on residential development. ASG Homes manages projects which are scheduled to deliver a total of 400,000 m2 of housing.
In Germany, the predecessor to Fund V made three corporate investments, creating Instone Real Estate by combining residential developers formart and GRK. The same fund also purchased one of the largest retirement home developers in Germany, WI Immo.
The sum raised by Fund V is the largest amount of equity raised to date by ASG funds and more than half of the capital came from existing investors. The fund has already committed more than €200 mln of the equity raised to investments in Germany and Spain, including the recent announcement of the purchase of fairvesta, the real estate fund platform serving retail investors from across Europe.
