MGPA winds up 1999 vintage fund

MGPA, the private equity real estate investment advisory company, has wound up its Global Fund I, an opportunistic $480 mln global fund which delivered strong returns to investors and culminated in the successful sale of $5 bn of assets. The fund is one of the first of its time to be round-tripped within the timeline agreed at inception and to meet the return targets, MGPA said in a press statement.

Established in 1999 by the existing senior management team, the vintage Fund invested on behalf of 15 global institutional investors across Australia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. The Fund made 21 investments across 12 countries throughout Asia and Europe including Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the UK, across all major property sectors, including office, retail, residential and industrial. MGPA generated more than a two times equity multiple and delivered a gross investment level IRR of 20% to the Fund’s investors at a time when the real estate sector was suffering from the aftermath of the dotcom crash and SARS.

The Fund made a variety of investments in the UK and Europe including Akeler, which it describes as 'a unique opportunity to build a fund management platform with assets in the UK and Europe. Akeler was the largest investment in Global Fund I and performed very strongly throughout the life cycle of the investment culminating in a 2.7 times equity multiple. Another key asset was the UK-based Meadow Portfolio comprising office and industrial assets. MGPA repositioned the assets and, to optimise value at the point of sale, the portfolio was broken up into individual and group assets resulting in a 2.0 times equity multiple.

James Quille commented, 'Global Fund I was MGPA’s flagship fund and I am proud to say that the key personnel remain the same team today. We continue to operate the same investment approach that has
stood the test of time, delivering strong returns to our investors following the dotcom crash and throughout the last decade. MGPA now has $10 bn of assets under management and we continue to make
selective investments across Asia and Europe.'

MGPA is now investing its $5.2 bn Global Fund III, which also invests on behalf of many of the investors from Funds I and II. To date, MGPA has raised approximately $8.1 bn of equity for real estate investment and has total assets under management of $10 bn.

MGPA is an independently managed private equity real estate investment advisory company focused on real estate investment in Europe and Asia. Its managed investments include development and redevelopment projects, joint-ventures and real estate operating companies in the office, retail, industrial, residential and hotel sectors. MGPA is owned by its senior management team and the Macquarie Group, a diversified international provider of banking, financial, advisory and investment services, headquartered in Sydney, Australia.