Boutique funds gear up for new round of capital-raising

A string of boutique fund managers is gearing up for a new round of capital raising, alongside the large private equity players like Blackstone and investment managers such as AEW Europe, Henderson Global Investors and Aberdeen. According to well-informed market sources, Orion Capital Managers has begun marketing of its fourth opportunistic fund which is aimed at raising as much as EUR 1.3 bn in equity. The fundraising target is similar to that of Orion's previous fund, Orion European Real Estate Fund III, which attracted EUR 1.3 bn in 2009 and is now believed to be nearly fully invested.

The London-based group has been fairly active over the past 12 months. In April last year it bought the Allee shopping centre in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen from a closed-end fund managed by DWS, the mutual fund company of Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management Business Division.

Other acquisitions include a 50% stake in the Puerto Venecia shopping centre project in Zaragoza, northern Spain which it is developing with UK REIT British Land. Tristan Capital Partners is also expected to hit the fund-raising trail later this year after raising €420 mln at the final close of its CCP III LP Fund. Other boutique investors believed to be plotting follow-on vehicles include Area Property Partners, Resolution Property, Catalyst Capital and Composition Capital.

The article appears in the April edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to order your copy now