Ares Management Corporation announced the final closing of Ares European Real Estate Fund V SCSp, at €1.78 billion.
This is the largest Ares real estate private equity fundraise to date, meaningfully exceeding its target of €1.25 billion and representing an increase from Ares European Real Estate Fund IV, which closed at €1.1 billion in December 2014.
Through EF V, the team is continuing its investment strategy of acquiring undermanaged or underfunded assets out of distressed ownership structures or complex situations, and actively managing them through to exit into the institutional market. The Fund targets investments in residential, office, industrial and mixed-use assets, predominantly located in the largest and most liquid European markets including Germany, France, the U.K. and Spain.
EF V attracted a broad and diverse group of both existing and new investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, asset managers, private banks and family offices.
Approximately 40% of the Fund’s equity has already been committed to nine investments across a diverse portfolio of properties weighted towards the residential and office sectors in markets such as Germany, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria and the U.K. Notable transactions include the acquisition of a seven-building pan-European office portfolio from a major European institution, the aggregation of a scaled for-rent residential platform in Madrid, Spain, and the recent acquisition of a prominent mixed-use building at 68 King William Street in the City of London, U.K.
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“This latest fundraise is a testament to the tremendous market opportunity at hand and our team’s demonstrated track record of investing across market cycles, regions and property types,” said Bill Benjamin, Partner and Head of the Ares Real Estate Group. “We are grateful to our longstanding and new investment partners for their support and look forward to putting their capital to good use in quality real estate assets across Europe.”
“The Ares real estate senior team averages over 20 years of experience and has been working together for over 15 years,” said John Ruane, Partner and Co-Head of European Real Estate Equity of Ares. “We’ve invested together through cycles, and our consistent process and long tenure have been instrumental to our strong track record of delivering excess returns for our investors across our funds.”
Mr. Ruane added, “In real estate, it is important to think globally, but act locally. Ares has a local presence across all major European markets, which enables our team to directly source a wide range of unique investment opportunities in the marketplace.”
The Ares Real Estate Group manages comprehensive public and private equity and debt strategies, with approximately $11.9 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2019.
