Zoe Hughes
Colony Capital chairman Tom Barrack says the industry faces its ‘greatest opportunity and challenge’ this year, with 2009 investments expected to make ‘historically high returns’. Not all firms will survive though, with those fundraising facing significant obstacles.
The founder and chairman of UK pub group, JD Wetherspoon, has warned that private equity and property investment groups have had a “pretty disastrous” effect on the British pub industry after piling large debt loads onto some companies, according to a report.
The private equity real estate firm, co-founded by AREA Property Partners’ Bill Mack and Lee Neibart, has parted company from the young fashion designer. NRDC bought two-thirds of the design company for around $10m in 2007.
The Larkspur, California-based private equity and real estate firm is hoping to close on its $50m LRG Capital Hospitality Fund in the next few months. The vehicle will target early-stage restaurants affected with large debt loads.
The $35bn United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund will start investing in funds of hedge funds and private equity. It will also expand its real estate portfolio, currently valued at around $1.8bn, to include infrastructure, agricultural land and timberland.
As some LPs actively seek to liquidate their real estate assets in the secondaries market, other more well capitalised limited partners are eyeing the sector as a potential investment opportunity. However with so much uncertainty in the market, the task of underwriting those positions is now much more daunting. PERE Magazine December 2008/January 2009 issue.
Morgan Stanley Real Estate focuses on commingled fund operation as it pulls out of the separate accounts business.
The French private equity firm will “partially” write down its $200m investment in US casino operator, Station Casino. Station is majority-owned by Colony Capital. Another Eurazeo-Colony investment, Accor, has also been hit by the economic downturn forcing the firm to inject an extra €200m into the hotel group.
The Middle Eastern market is being affected by the credit crunch as it looks to cut back on ‘overcapacity’. The investment bank operates various private equity and real estate funds, including a $533m Saudi hospitality fund.
The German commercial real estate lender, partially owned by private equity firms JC Flowers and Grove International, has secured another liquidity guarantee from the government, on top of the €20bn already promised.