Private equity-style property funds with a record $100bn-plus of spending power were launched last year in a sign of the insatiable appetite from pension funds and rich private investors for real estate.
At least 44 such vehicles across the world were established during 2005 by mainly US groups, including Lehman Brothers, Blackstone and Carlyle. Together they raised more than $30bn.
The figures from Private Equity Intelligence, a research group, show a jump of 50 per cent from the $20bn raised in 2004 by the industry. Other funds are currently seeking another $13bn or more.
KKR(Kohlberg Kravis Roberts)和黑石集团近几个月来的筹资额达到创纪录水平,这使它们得以进行规模巨大的公司收购。对地产投资的庞大需求,也使地产基金规模变大。在保险精算师的建议下,许多养老基金将更多资金投入地产及对冲基金等另类资产类别。私人股本型地产基金倾向于成为“机会基金”,承担更大风险,目标年回报率约为20%. Record fund-raisings in recent months by KKR and Blackstone have given them the muscle for huge corporate takeovers. Property funds have also become larger because of the high demand for property investment. Many pension funds have been advised by their actuaries to invest more money in alternative asset classes such as real estate and hedge funds. Private equity-style property funds tend to be “opportunity funds” targeting returns of about 20 per cent a year in return for greater risk.
A new Blackstone fund is understood to have an equity target of $4bn for its Real Estate Partners V, which it may reach within weeks – giving it $16bn to spend on global property. Its predecessor raised $2.5bn in 2003.
《房地产警报》(Real Estate Alert)简报称,摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)即将为其全球Real Estate Fund V筹集创纪录的42亿美元资金,以及为一只仅面向美国的新基金和另一只“特别机会”(special situations)地产基金分别募集12.5亿美元和10亿美元。
Morgan Stanley is close to raising a record $4.2bn for its global Real Estate Fund V, $1.25bn for a new US-only fund and $1bn for a special situations property fund, according to the Real Estate Alert newsletter.
尽管人们担心,近年来商业地产价格上涨太快,实现高水平回报的难度上升,但仍然出现了上述趋势。
The trend comes despite fears that commercial property prices have risen so far in recent years that high returns are harder to achieve.