US investment bank Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has closed its third real estate private equity fund, raising $2.12bn in capital, of which one third will be invested in international property.
Owen Thomas, managing director of Morgan Stanley and president of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF), said less than 25% had already been allocated and estimated that around 50% of this was in Europe. So far, with debt and equity from partners, the fund has completed more than 20 investment involving $1.4bn of assets in western Europe.
Thomas said the fund would continue to seek investments in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, While the majority of the investment had so far been direct, it would also consider indirect options.
