Partners Group raises $800m for global fund

The Swiss group is currently highlighting real estate secondaries, senior debt and preferred equity investments in its investment thesis as it more than doubles the size of its last vehicle in a global series.

The Zug, Switzerland-based investment firm Partners Group revealed today it has corralled more than $800 million (€630 million) for Partners Group Global Real Estate 2011 – more than twice the size of the previous fund in its value-add global series.

In a statement, Claude Angéloz, co-head of private real estate, said demand for its programme demonstrated continued strong interest in global real estate exposure by leading institutional investors who sought diversification as well as attractive returns at a time when core and trophy properties were over-priced again in many of their home markets.

He said: “Investors increasingly recognise the duration risk associated with core exposure in today’s low yield environment,” he said as the firm continues to attack the rationale of buying core real estate in several markets.

Pamela Alsterlind, fellow co-head of private real estate, added that continued distress in developed markets like the US, Europe and Japan were providing an array of opportunities, while growth in Asia-Pacific and Latin America were also features.

The company said it currently overweighted secondary investments where it is seeing record deal flow, increasingly also through purchases of assets in the secondary market. In addition, it said it was an active provider of real estate debt and preferred equity to borrowers and owners for ‘quality’ real estate. In 2011, Partners Group said it sourced about 2,200 investment opportunities worldwide and executed 43 of them.

Alsterlind said: “We are pleased to report that our program has already a high investment level at its final closing and the portfolio is valued above par. Further investments are in process of closing.”

It didn’t reveal any of the investors in the fund. El Paso (Texas) Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund is reportedly among them however.

Though it didn’t reference its previous funds, the latest vehicle is more than twice the size of Partners Group Global Real Estate 2009, which closed on €275 million of capital commitments.