LaSalle Investment Management boosted its assets under management to a record level of $58.3 bn (€51.1 bn) in the first three months of this year, a rise of just over 3% compared to the figure at end-2015.
The increase reflected $2.9 bn of acquisitions over the period and $2.6 bn in net valuation increases. This was partially offset by $3.1 bn of disposals and $0.5 bn of net foreign currency decreases.
The investment management arm of advisor JLL reported total revenue grew 18% over the first quarter, driven by transaction fees on real estate transactions and net valuation increases across its co-investment portfolio.
Advisory fees rose 5% over the quarter to $62 mln, partially reflecting higher transaction fees stemming from the listing of LaSalle Logiport REIT in the US.
The Chicago-based investment manager raised $1.9 bn over the three-month period.
LaSalle's robust growth helped boost first-quarter revenue at parent company JLL by 14% year-on-year to $1.3 bn. However, adjusted net income fell 15% to $37 mln. JLL attributed the decline to a slow start in capital markets against an 'outsized' first quarter in 2015, together with investments in technology and data.
JLL's EMEA division performed strongly over the period, with total segment revenue rising 18% to $369 mln. Growth in the region was led by Germany, France, MENA and the Benelux.
Commenting on the results, JLL's president and CEO Colin Dyer said 2016 had started slowly, but added that real estate markets regained traction as the quarter progressed. 'We expect this momentum to continue, indicating another excellent year for the company.'
