Bridges Ventures raises €300m at final close for 3rd fund

UK investor Bridges Ventures said on Friday it has held the final close of Bridges Property Alternatives Fund III with equity commitments of £212 mln (€298 mln), slightly ahead of its original £200 mln target.

The fund attracted support from institutional investors on both sides of the Atlantic: around 80% of the capital came from UK and US pension funds, including local authority pension funds in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and South Yorkshire, with the balance coming from family offices, foundations and insurers, including US-based Prudential Financial.

The fund - the largest ever raised by Bridges Ventures - will apply gearing at a project level to reach a potential firepower of over £500 mln. It will invest in direct property and property-backed businesses, focusing on regeneration areas, buildings showing environmental leadership, and niche sectors being affected by changing demographics and consumer needs.

Bridges specialises in using sustainability and social impact as a way to identify investments with the potential to drive financial value along with social and environmental improvements.

Since its first close on more than £120 mln of equity commitments in April 2014, the fund has completed six deals including the £85 mln acquisition from Regus of the Evans Easyspace portfolio; the building of 240 residential apartments as part of the regeneration of the Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes; Barclays House, an environmentally-led refurbishment of a part-vacant office building in Leeds; Prime 10, a derelict site in Wolverhampton that is being redeveloped to create a high-spec warehouse and logistics scheme.

Following these transactions, about 40% of the fund's capital has already been invested and committed.

Simon Ringer, partner and head of Property Funds at Bridges Ventures, said: 'We believe this a strong endorsement of our impact-led strategy, which we have shown can deliver compelling investment returns alongside positive and lasting societal impact.'