The Blackstone Group’s sixth dedicated opportunistic European real estate vehicle closed this week, making the fund its largest-ever in the region and beating the US giant’s original €8 bn target.
BREP Europe VI raised €9.8 bn from a wide range of investors, including US pension plans: New Mexico State Investment Council; New York Teachers’ Retirement System; Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana; and Texas County & District Retirement System pension fund.
BREP VI’s debut investment was last September when the fund bought Dream Global REIT’s 200-strong office and industrial portfolio, spread across a number of markets in western Europe, mainly in the Netherlands and Germany.
Blackstone notched up another first in September last year when it closed its latest global real estate vehicle, BREP IX. The $20.5 bn (€18.6 bn) raised made it the biggest real estate fund ever raised.
James Seppala, head of real estate Europe, Blackstone said: 'We are delighted with the support received for BREP Europe VI and are grateful to have strong representation from both first-time and returning investors from around the world, including public-sector pension plans representing millions of retirees.
‘The significant demand for the fund is testament to the confidence our investors have in our ability to deploy strategic long-term capital to assets and businesses across Europe. Our scale and reach allow us to put capital to work strategically during this period of elevated volatility.’
