SC Capital attracts US and European capital for debut core-plus Asia fund

Singapore-based SC Capital has raised US$451.5m (€392m) for its debut core-plus real estate fund, SCORE.

The fund had an initial target of US$400m and will now be closed to new investors for three years, or until 95% of the has been invested.

Fund manager Gillian Chee told IPE Real Estate that it would then reopen to investors and become SC Capital’s first perpetual-life fund.

The manager currently manages a series of opportunistic funds, known as RECAP vehicles.

The SCORE fund has attracted six institutional investors from the US and seven from Europe. For some, it marks their first entry into Asia-Pacific real estate markets.

According to public sources, the investors include City of Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund and City of Phoenix Employees Retirement System.

Chee said that while there is ongoing interest in Asia-Pacific, there is also a degree of caution among institutions.

“They are aware that many core Asia funds were launched in the past year-and-a-half,” she said. “Some investors wonder if there is still value in Asia in core and core-plus funds.”

SC Capital is seeking to differentiate itself by focusing on niche segments, such as education-based assets.

Chee said the education sector was growing in Asia and it was likely to be largely insulated from an economic downturn. “It is a defensive asset class,” she said.

SCORE has acquired five assets in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul. Its first acquisition was student accommodation in Sydney.

Its assets in Seoul and Hong Kong are leased mainly to tuition providers, and its fifth asset is student accommodation in Tokyo.

The collective gross value of the five assets is about US$143m.

SC Capital has deployed 20% of the fund and hopes to increase this to just over 30% with the purchase of a sixth asset in the next couple of months.

Chee said: “We hope to take advantage of volatility in the financial markets in the next 24 months, and the opportunities that this volatility will create, including in strong demographically-driven themes.

“We will have the dry powder to fully capture the twists and turns of the next economic downturn.”