Lehman Brothers has announced the final closing of one of the world’s largest real estate funds.
The fund, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners, has raised $1.6bn in equity which will be invested with a global remit, but primarily in North America and west and central Europe. Lehman Brothers said gearing would be decided on a project-by-project basis.
The equity comprises $1.1bn of capital from corporate and government pension funds, foundations and high-net worth individuals, and $500m from Lehman Brothers and its employees.
Lehman Brothers is not specifying the fund’s allocation to Europe but it has already invested $400m, which has included deals in the UK, France and Switzerland.
This includes its 23% stake in French property developer Nexity, its acquisition of UK property company Burford and the purchase with PSP Swiss Property of a SFr1.28bn Swisscom portfolio.
Mark Walsh, managing director of Lehman Brothers, said: “We believe that today’s dynamic global investment environment offers increasingly attractive opportunities to achieve strong risk-adjusted returns in real estate property and operating company investments.”
EGi News 15/01/02
