AXA Real Estate Investment Managers said CRE9, its latest pan-European real estate debt fund, raised €2.9 bn at the final close, making it one of the largest CRE senior loan funds in Europe.
AXA Real Estate Investment Managers said CRE9, its latest pan-European real estate debt fund, raised €2.9 bn at the final close, making it one of the largest CRE senior loan funds in Europe.
With an initial target of €2.5 bn, CRE9 exceeded expectations after receiving commitments from 18 institutional investors across the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland. Capital was originated mainly from insurance companies and pension funds, underpinning their continued interest in the asset class.
CRE9 is AXA Real Estate’s most recent co-mingled real estate debt fund for European institutional investors and the first to incorporate a German feeder fund issuing rated notes to German regulated institutional investors with €350 mln as part of the final close.
The fund is also the first to allow capital to be recycled back once loans have matured. This enables investors to maintain their allocation to the firm’s debt platform.
Timothé Rauly, head of CRE Finance, commented: 'Having superseded all initial fund targets, our latest close at €2.9 bn is testament to our strong performance and proven track record within the debt market. Through accommodating varying and dynamic investor requirements, we have successfully secured third-party regulated German capital for the first time, as well as structuring the fund to allow investors who want to keep their fund invested with us to recycle capital.’
New mandate
AXA Real Estate said it has also been awarded a separate £350 mln (€498 mln) investment mandate from a major UK pension fund which brings its total real estate debt platform to €11.3 bn. Of this figure, €1.8 bn was raised in the last six months and €9 bn has already been invested.
AXA Real Estate was the first non-banking institution to enter the European real estate debt market in 2005 and has raised €3.4 bn since September 2014. At €11.3 bn, the current debt platform makes AXA Real Estate the largest player in this segment among real estate investment managers in Europe. Investments are currently spread across four main territories: the UK (43%), France (26%), Spain (17%) and Germany (9%).