AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (AXA IM - Real Assets), a real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe, announces that it has raised c.€1.4bn for its latest commercial real estate senior debt fund, Commercial Real Estate Senior 10 (CRE Senior 10). A final close is expected during the H1 of 2017.
Commitments have been received from 12 institutional investors, from various European countries, some of whom have invested previously in AXA IM - Real Assets’ real estate debt platform as well as some new clients. The Fund is the 10th generation of AXA IM - Real Assets’ CRE Senior funds and brings its debt platform to a total of €13bn of commitments, re-affirming its position as the most advanced and largest debt platform among Europe’s non-banking lenders, having been the first to enter the market in 2005.
CRE Senior 10 is AXA IM - Real Assets’ first fund to have an initial mandate to invest in US loans, with an allocation of up to 25%, as it looks to further capitalise on the continuing strength of the US economy. AXA IM - Real Assets has been investing in US real estate debt since 2014, as part of its wider expansion into the US real estate market.
Timothé Rauly, Head of CRE Finance at AXA IM - Real Assets, commented: “By increasing the allocation of this Fund’s investment into the US debt market, AXA IM - Real Assets is responding to growing client appetite for truly globalised investment management solutions. The size of commitments received shows both the confidence in our ability to deliver strong returns to investors via the debt markets, whilst also demonstrating the growing appetite for commercial real estate debt. As global institutional investors look to diversify their allocations, AXA IM - Real Assets is uniquely positioned through its combined expertise in debt markets as well local real estate markets expertise. Our size remains a key competitive advantage to offer access to significantly larger debt investments that offer value for clients.”
