Large Platform Events | Issue 24.49

 

Summary of Transaction Headlines

Bisnow | “New JV Targeting $1 Billion in Multifamily Aims to be ‘Early Movers into this Next Cycle’”

Michael Betancourt sees a wave of multifamily deal volume on the horizon, and his firm has assembled a new joint venture with major investors to get in front of it. His firm, New York-based Aion Partners, this week announced plans to buy $1 Billion in value-add multifamily properties through a partnership with a Goldman Sachs subsidiary and another unnamed global institutional investor. The JV is set to close its first acquisition in Columbus, Ohio, next quarter and ramp up its activity from there, as it expects the markets to open back up, Betancourt told Bisnow in an interview this week.

Business Wire | “Dune Real Estate Partners and TF Cornerstone Announce Creation of Alta Residential, a $1 Billion Venture to Advance Office-to-Residential Conversions Nationwide”

Dune Real Estate Partners (Dune), a leading national real estate investment platform, together with TF Cornerstone (TFC), a New York City-based, integrated residential and commercial developer, announced the creation of a new $1 Billion venture, Alta Residential. Dune and TF Cornerstone have identified the conversion of office buildings to residential as a generational opportunity given the scale of the distress in office real estate together with the unmet demand for housing in the U.S. In New York City alone, over 18 Million Sq. Ft. (over 18,000 units) of conversions are in some stage of redevelopment. Dune and TFC believe that the conversion opportunity will compare in scale to the single-family-for-rent trend following the global financial crisis.

IREI | “Aviva Investors Launches Third Long Term Asset Fund With £750 Million ($950 Million USD) of Capital”

Aviva Investors has launched its third fund under the Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF) regime with the creation of the Aviva Investors Multi-Sector Private Debt LTAF (MSPD LTAF). The new fund has received an initial £750 Million ($950 Million USD) of investment capital from Aviva’s flagship My Future Focus default pensions solution, which invests in a broad range of asset classes on behalf of the firm’s range of auto-enrollment defined contribution (DC) default strategies.

IREI | “Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Boreal IM Acquire Four Assets in France and Germany”

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Boreal IM’s joint venture have announced the acquisition of a 149,000-Square-Meter (1.60 Million-Square-Foot) portfolio of three fully let logistics assets in Paris and a 46,000-Square-Meter (495,000-Square-Foot) warehouse in the Ruhr region of Germany. The French acquisition marks the joint venture’s third significant investment in the country in the last two years. The portfolio in France now stands at 388,000 Square Meters (4.18 Million Square Feet).

IREI | “Partners Group Acquires Empira Group”

Empira Group has announced its acquisition by Partners Group. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Switzerland, Empira is one of the most respected vertically integrated real estate investment managers focused on the residential sector, with a portfolio boasting $10 Billion in assets under management. Empira Group’s investment strategies encompass U.S. residential, European residential, transition-to-green initiatives aimed at creating value through sustainability, and real estate credit. In its real estate credit segment, Empira Group offers a range of financing solutions, including senior and junior loans, whole-loan and mezzanine financing, preferred equity, and joint venture opportunities.

Business Wire | “Weave Living and KKR Establish Strategic Partnership to Invest in Multifamily Assets in Japan”

Weave Living, Asia-Pacific’s pre-eminent living sector specialist, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced the establishment of a strategic partnership (“Weave Living Japan Residential Venture I”) in Japan. This collaborative effort is an active management-led multifamily residential program that aims to build a portfolio of over 3,000 residential units in Japan, investing in both newly built assets and existing assets with an initial focus on Tokyo and the potential of expanding to Osaka.

IPE Real Assets | “Tishman Speyer Appoints Leader of European Industrial Business”

Developer, owner, operator, and investment manager Tishman Speyer has appointed James Quill to lead its industrial business throughout Europe. In this role, he will focus on the firm’s rapidly expanding European industrial portfolio and pipeline, directing efforts for acquiring and operating assets and development sites. Quill joins Tishman Speyer from Prologis, where most recently he built and led the European data center function and team.

BE News | “Colliers Names New UK CEO”

John Munday has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Colliers UK, effective 3 March 2025. Munday, who has 30 years of industry expertise, joined Colliers in 2022 as Co-Head of Project and Building Consultancy following the establishment of a strategic partnership with Paragon, where he was Co-Managing Director. In his new role, he will set the strategic direction of the UK transactional and advisory services business, which employs more than 1,000 people.

Property Week | “Tom Morgan to Take the Helm of CBRE’s Operational Real Estate Team”

Global real estate advisor CBRE has promoted Tom Morgan to Head of Operational Real Estate (OPRE), effective January 1. In his new position, Tom will drive further growth for CBRE’s UK OPRE business, which comprises healthcare, hotels, pubs, leisure, self-storage, and automotive & roadside. He will work closely with the wider OPRE leadership team to provide integrated solutions for clients at a time of improved investor interest in the sector. The OPRE Valuation team will continue to be led by Al McCutchion.

Bisnow | “WC Smith Names New CEO as Chris Smith Steps Back”

For the first time in its 56-year history, WC Smith will be led by someone outside the family. Chris Smith, CEO and Chairman of the D.C.-based real estate firm is set to be replaced by the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Brad Fennell. Fennell is scheduled to begin in the role on Jan. 1. “Brad brings essential qualities to the CEO position: deep institutional and professional knowledge; extensive experience working with industry, local, and community leaders; and critical skills as a collaborator and convener of teams across divisions within WC Smith,” Smith said in the release.