News & Analysis

Fifth Wall’s dominance in PERE’s inaugural Proptech 20 ranking is reminiscent of Blackstone’s in the private real estate sector’s main capital market space.

Majority-owner Sun Life has decided the manager will focus on its bigger Infrastructure business. To that end, InfraRed’s European real estate platform is expected to be sold, while its Asia platform will be merged with Sun Life’s main private real estate business, Bentall GreenOak.

Experts from Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors, Clarion Partners, Deutsche Finance International and Nuveen Real Estate discuss the radical changes underway in the once-predictable office sector at PERE’s workplace roundtable.

Apollo and VICI Properties’ $6.25bn purchase comes from a distressed situation but the asset itself was by no means sold at distressed pricing.

Funds targeting the sector are seeking nearly 50% more capital than they did a year ago, even though sales fell in 2020 from the previous year.

The firm’s third opportunistic vehicle was launched in November 2019 with a $1.5bn original target.

Proptech investing started largely as a balance sheet cost for managers to drive efficiencies in their real estate portfolios. Today, it is the focus of a whole new wave of capital raising, highlighted by PERE’s inaugural Proptech 20 ranking.

The private equity firms’ large bet on the hotel owner and operator speaks to the faster-than-expected rebound in the sector, but its pricing remains a point of contention.

Institutions continue to have appetite for core. But behavioral trends are seeing demand for traditional balanced funds weaken, says James Jacobs, head of real estate for Lazard’s private capital advisory group.