To our valued clients and friends
As the real estate investment world returns from a much-needed summer break everyone is trying to figure out the trends as we approach the final quarter of 2024. Sousou Partners have certainly witnessed a significant uptick in the amount of C-suite hiring within real estate backed operating companies, both for privately owned and private equity backed businesses. We’re actively working on live mandates across multiple sectors including hospitality (particularly hot), serviced offices, housebuilders and caravan parks and this trend shows no sign of abating. The equity market is moving away from pure real asset investment to more operational heavy investment. The days of sitting on assets and hitting opportunistic returns are over for now, not least because investors are having to cover off an extra 5/6% of financing costs with everyone still wanting 20/22% returns. Equity investors are trying to figure out how to make this work and the answer appears to be operational efficiencies and platform investment/creation.
We hope you enjoy a fascinating and truly insightful interview with Cara Griffiths, a Managing Director at Blue Owl, at the forefront of the GP-stakes investment market. Rare for an interview to pivot so seamlessly between professional and personal experience. Cara’s interview, amongst other things, is an excellent overview of the evolution of the private equity industry which is entering its fifth decade.
Best wishes
Peter Field
Expert Opinion
Interview with Cara Griffiths
Sousou Partners were delighted to sit down with Cara Griffiths, Managing Director at Blue Owl, for the first interview in a series on the GP-stakes investment market. In these interviews, we’ll be speaking to the key players operating within this high-growth sector, which is providing strategic growth capital to leading private markets managers and helping them navigate a rapidly evolving alternative asset management landscape.
Cara Griffiths is a Managing Director at Blue Owl and a senior member of the GP Strategic Capital (GPSC) Investment Team. Based in London, she focuses on strategic projects relating to public capital markets activity and coverage of GPSC’s relationships with investors and alternative asset management firms across Europe and Southeast Asia.
Managing Director
Blue Owl
Talking Points
Peter Field and Dominic Harding will be attending EXPO Real in Munich next month. They are looking forward to hearing how investors, owners and operators are looking at the end of the year and beyond, as well as catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.
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Mark Wareham, Senior Consultant at Sousou Partners, was delighted to attend the CREFC-Women’s Network event “Navigating Your Career: How to Take Charge of Your Own Career” as a panellist.
Key Moves
A highlight of key people moves within global real assets over the last quarter
EMEA
- Anne Kavanagh was appointed as chair of ULI Europe
- Scape Group appointed Martijn Vos as Chief Executive Officer
- Aareal Bank appointed Andy Halford as Chief Financial Officer
- INREV appointed Casper Hesp as Chief Executive Officer
- BNP Paribas REIM named Vincenzo Nocerino as Global Chief Investment Officer but will remain Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas REIM Italy. Swati Srivastava was appointed as Country Head, UK
- Harrison Street appointed Mina Kojuri as Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Europe
- Rothschild REIM appointed Lennart Weinhold as Managing Director, Real Estate Debt
- DWS appointed Simon Wallace as Head of UK Real Estate
- L&G appointed Toby Creamer as Head of European Transactions
Americas
- Blackstone appointed Wesley LePatner as Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust
- Andrew Sossen rejoined Starwood Capital as Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer
- CBRE appointed Henry Chin as Chief Operating Officer of Global Research
- Prologis hired Ted Eliopoulos as Managing Director of Strategic Capital
- Tishman Speyer appointed Amit Rustgi to lead originations for its new US debt platform
- Royal Bank of Canada hired Daniel Gabbay as Managing Director focused on US real estate
- Kayne Anderson Real Estate hired Lee Levy as a Senior Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Debt
- The Roxborough Group appointed Sam Caven as Managing Director of Acquisitions
- J.P. Morgan Asset Management hired Josh Myerberg as Head of Real Estate Americas Portfolio Strategy
- Hines appointed Steve Luthman to lead the real estate services efforts globally, and Ray Lawler, current head of Hines’ APAC region, to lead the Americas real estate services business
- Heitman appointed John Mancuso as Managing Director and Head of Global Sales in the client service and marketing group
- Greystar appointed Michael Hoverman as Executive Director of Infrastructure
- Farallon Capital Management hired Avner Husen as Head of Real Estate Credit
APAC
- Blackrock appointed Tomoko Ueda as Chief Operating Officer for APAC
- Hines appointed Jon Tanaka to Head of APAC, and Saiko Ishii to Country Head, Co-leader of Japan
- QIC Real Estate appointed Deborah Coakley as Managing Director
Transactions
A look at some of the largest real estate deals over the last quarter
Sector Focus: Global Industrials
Sector Focus: European Office
Market Insights
Market Trends
- European commercial real estate investment activity in Q2 of 2024 ended a seven-quarter decline by holding steady. Although overall transaction volume decreased by 2% year-over-year to €44bn, a rebound in the UK and smaller markets managed to offset the continued weakness in Germany and France
- £71bn of industrial and logistics deals were completed globally in H1 2024, representing over 9% growth from the 2015-19 average
- European office demand saw a rise of 9% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024 to €1.6m
Fund Raises
- Goldman Sachs closed the largest dedicated real estate secondaries fund, Vintage Real Estate Partners III, ever raised at $3.4bn
- Carlyle reported a strong Q2 for fundraising that saw it raise $3.4bn for its real estate equity funds
- Ares Management closed its fourth US real estate fund with a record $3.3bn haul
- Stonepeak announced the final close of its Opportunities Fund at $3.15bn
- Lone Star Funds raised $2.7bn for its latest global opportunistic and value-add commercial real estate fund
- Macquarie held the final close on $1.9bn for opportunity fund Macquarie Real Estate Partners, which will cover global developed markets
- HIG Capital secured €1.5bn for its third European real estate fund
- Hines surpassed €1bn of equity commitments for its Hines European Property Partners fund (HEPP)
- PGIM launched its first Australian real estate debt strategy, completing the first close with $300m, targeting $750m
- Meridia Capital, reached €250m for its new fund as its approach to operational real estate gains momentum
- Oaktree Capital Management and Avana Companies teamed up to provide $250m in private real estate debt financing in the US
Corporate Acquisitions
- Blackstone is set to acquire data centre operator AirTrunk for A$24bn
- Macquarie Asset Management is set to launch an independent real estate company called Manova Partners, managing €11.4bn in AUM with primary focus on Core and Core+
Debt
- Fattal Hotels secured a £525m senior loan from Cheyne Capital, to support the refinancing of four well-performing London hotels
- Barings financed Ares and NorthPoint’s midwestern US logistics portfolio, totalling $244m for 6.4m sq.ft. portfolio
- ING Italia extended a €240m green loan to DeA Capital for a logistics portfolio
- Ashby Capital obtained £82.4m loan from Deutsche Hypo – Nord.LB Real Estate Finance to finance three of their retail parks