AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has announced the launch of the Caesar Fund, after raising EUR 118 mln from Italian institutional investors at first close.
AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has announced the launch of the Caesar Fund, after raising EUR 118 mln from Italian institutional investors at first close.
The fund is targeting a EUR 200 mln total equity raise with a fund size of up to EUR 400 mln, once fully invested. It will be managed by AXA REIM SGR in Italy.
The Caesar Fund has a nine year life and seeks to achieve an average annual dividend of 5.5% on invested capital and an IRR of 9%. The equity has been raised from a broad mix of Italian institutional investors comprising social security entities, pension funds, and insurance companies as well as AXA Group companies who have invested alongside AXA Real Estate's clients.
Caesar is reserved for institutional investors and will target investment in core office properties in the euro zone and Great Britain.
It is AXA REIM SGR's second regulated product following the creation of Core Italian Properties Fund, which is currently fully invested. In the last three financial years, CIPF has generated an annual dividend of between 5% and 5.5% on capital invested.
'We will begin by investing in the UK and French office markets as we believe these currently offer the best opportunities to meet our clients' requirements by investing in assets with highly stable long term income streams,' said Giorgio Pieralli, managing director of AXA REIM SGR, and fund manager of the Caesar Fund. 'These markets are also attractive as they now have the most acute supply/demand imbalances of all Europe's main cities. As other markets start to recover, we expect to broaden the fund's investment horizons across Europe.'
