RED 50 countdown: 39-30

Accompanying PERE’s first special report on debt funds is our inaugural top 50 ranking of global private real estate debt fund managers – RED 50 for short.

Compiled by our colleagues in the PERE research & analytics team, the list is based on the capital raised for debt issuance funds between 2014 and 2018. And a familiar name occupies the number one spot – Blackstone. North American-based managers, in fact, dominate the ranking – 32 feature in total, likely a reflection of the maturity of the market stateside compared to other regions.

European managers take up 16 places in RED 50 with London-headquartered ICG-Longbow the region’s top dog in third place followed by M&G Investments in fourth and DRC Capital falling just outside the top 10 in eleventh position. Asia-Pacific-based fund managers fare less well, with just two managers – Melbourne-headquartered Qualitas and Japan’s Diamond Realty Management –  in RED 50.

Now, we continue our countdown…

39

Omni Partners

$947 million
London

Omni Partner focuses on loans to professional property investors that fund refurbishment projects or the acquisition of buy-to-let properties. In 2017, it closed on Omni Secured Lending III with £340 million ($452 million; €400 million). Its predecessors, OSL I and OSL II, raised $45 million and $240 million, respectively.

The firm was founded by Steve Clark in 2004 and has also has an office in Irvine, California.

38

Latitude Management Real Estate Investors

$963 million
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

LaSalle Investment Management acquired a $1.2 billion majority stake in the commercial real estate debt fund business of Latitude Management Real Estate Investors in 2018. Renamed LaSalle Mortgage Real Estate Investors, the group focuses on the US market, providing short-term, floating rate loans to mid-market commercial real estate sponsors.

37

Laxfield Group

$1.04 billion
London

Through Laxfield LLP, a £750 million ($1 billion; €880 million) vehicle, the firm provides whole loans of £7 million to £100 million, while Laxfield National offers senior loans of £4 million to £20 million.

Recent financings through the Laxfield LLP fund include an £80 million loan of a mixed-use scheme in Scotland and a £20 million financing of a newly completed hotel in London.

36

Walton Street Capital

$1.07 billion
Chicago

Walton Street invests in debt of office, multifamily, hotel, industrial and retail real estate. Rich Ratke leads the 15-member team. Walton Street Real Estate Debt Fund I closed in April 2016 on $654 million in commitments and is nearly fully invested.

The firm, which is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in Mexico City and Mumbai, has $11.8 billion in assets under management.

35

SCOR Investment Partners

$1.07 billion
Paris

Founded in 2008, SCOR Investment Partners is the asset management company of global reinsurance firm the SCOR Group. SCOR Real Estate Loans Fund III, closed in January 2018 on €550 million. The fund focuses on the financing of assets under development, restructuring or repositioning that benefit from the latest environmental labels or welfare certifications.

The team is led by Gilles Castiel, head of real estate, and Sandrine Amsili, head of real estate debt.

34

Diamond Realty Management

$1.19 billion
Tokyo

Part of Japanese asset manager Mitsubishi Corporation Group, the firm provides private real estate funds and mezzanine debt funds to institutional investors in Japan and overseas.

Since 2011, the firm has launched six mezzanine debt funds in Japan, the latest in March 2018. The firm has also launched a $64 million fund specialized in mezzanine debt collateralized by a US real estate asset under construction in Brooklyn, New York.

33

Qualitas

$1.24 billion
Melbourne

Qualitas is one of Australia’s largest alternative real estate debt and equity investment groups. With 77 professionals across offices in Melbourne, Sydney and New York, Qualitas’ investment activities are predominantly focused on Australia and New Zealand.
The firm manages several debt funds including: Qualitas Real Estate Opportunity Fund; Qualitas Senior Debt Fund; Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund; and Qualitas Mezzanine Fund.

32

Square Mile Capital

$1.24 billion
New York

Square Mile Capital’s debt investment strategies include first mortgages and mezzanine loans. The firm also focuses on the acquiring, restructuring and resolution of commercial mortgage debt originated by other lenders.

In 2018, the firm launched Square Mile Credit Partners II, a mezzanine fund focused on real assets special situations. The firm is led by CEO Craig Solomon.Jeffrey Fastov is a senior managing director leading credit strategies.

31

Brunswick Real Estate Capital

$1.33 billion
Stockholm

Brunswick began focusing on providing senior lending in the Nordic region, and most specifically in Sweden, in 2013.

It is currently investing out of Brunswick Real Estate Capital II, which closed in June 2018 on €640 million. Its first fund closed in March 2016. It makes loans in the range of SKr400 million ($43 million; €38 million) to SKr1 billion, with a term of up to 10 years. The team, is led by CEO Pontus Sundin.

30

Värde Partners

$1.41 billion
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Värde Partners lends to commercial entities that develop or manage property assets, including NPL and REO portfolios, in residential, multifamily, commercial and industrial real estate.

The firm recently led a group of investors along with Guber Banca in the acquisition of an NPL portfolio originated by 22 mutual, rural and cooperative banks throughout Italy. The gross value of the book is about €734 million.