Eva Poon
Following the launch of its $1bn real estate debt vehicle, the Bahrain-based investment firm has appointed former JP Morgan and Bear Stearns professional, Christopher Hoeffel, to help grow its debt investment business.
The world’s sovereign wealth funds are expected to allocate up to 30 percent, or around $218 billion, of new investments in unlisted property funds over the next seven years, according to a report by CB Richard Ellis. It comes as Bahrain-based Investcorp launches a $1bn real estate debt vehicle with an unnamed Gulf sovereign wealth fund as an investor.
The fall-out from the collapse of investment banking giant Lehman Brothers could have long-term implications on the real estate investing marketplace, according to private equity real estate professionals, but at the moment most investors are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
Indian housing lender HDFC will function as an ‘asset reconstruction fund’ targeting developers facing a tougher real estate market. Along with its asset management unit, HDFC will acquire distressed real estate projects in the country.
Despite the credit crunch, the global office markets are still on an “upward trend,” according to a report by real estate services firm, Colliers International. The emerging markets continued to record strong growth in the sector.
Joseph Azrack, the former president and CEO of Citi Property Investors, will join Leon Black’s new real estate arm, a separate entity from the veteran real estate firm named Apollo Real Estate. Apollo Global's operation will focus, initially, on distressed debt and recapitalizations.
Joseph Azrack, the former president and CEO of Citi Property Investors, will join Leon Black’s new real estate arm, a separate entity from Apollo Real Estate. The latter firm was launched in 1993 in conjunction with Apollo, but no longer has an official affiliation with the buyout firm.
The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System has also approved €150m for Nordic Capital's latest buyout vehicle.
EV Energy Partners, formed by Enervest in 2006, will acquire 440 producing wells as well as oil and gas reserves.
An aging population and increasing demand for improved healthcare are putting focus on the growing life science-related real estate sector in the US, according to a report by CBRE. The San Francisco Bay Area, home to more than 800 biotech companies, is one of the largest markets.