LFF Partnership with fresh muscle after CWI takeover
The recently-established strategic partnership between French group La Francaise and Forum Partners, in creating a European direct real estate investment joint venture, developed added muscle when the JV bought out Cushman and Wakefield Investors (CWI), the investment management business of the global property advisers. The move seems certain to broaden the investment base of particularly the French partner thoughout Europe, with Germany likely to be a beneficiary of the new venture’s strengthened mandate.
La Francaise owned 66.6% and London-based Forum Partners 33.3% in the new venture, La Francaise Forum Real Estate Partners (LFF Real Estate Partners), and the absorption of CWI will now enable the new grouping “to offer a complete range of bespoke Pan European real estate investment solutions (direct real estate, listed and unlisted real estate investment funds, private and public equity and debt) to retail and institutional investors worldwide”, according to the company.The new combined platform will have total assets under management amounting to close to $20 billion, of which $14 billion are direct core European real estate investments.
Marc Bertrand, CEO of La Francaise, said in a media interview that it proposed to seek a new mandate from its domestic fund investors to broaden its remit to investing in German cities, as its own institutional closed property funds are too narrowly focused on French cities, and they needed to diversify.
Bertrand said the acquisition of CWI also gives the JV further reach around Europe, and provides a good match with Forum's global experience, along with its global fundraising experience and capability. While the French firm has focused on France and the UK, adding Germany to complete a 'golden triangle', Forum has global experience and fund-raising partners. Forum has reach into US, Asian, and Nordic institutions and other investors, while La Francaise is strong in France, elsewhere in Europe, and has clients also in the Middle East, notably Kuwait.
“La Francaise is moving towards finance in real estate and Forum is coming from private equity and financing toward direct real estate", he commented, adding “CWI looks like where we wanted to be within three years.” Among likely first steps will be bringing Forum into real estate debt, for which the French firm launched its first fund just over a year ago. La Francaise has developed a speciality over the last ten years of taking strategic minority stakes in real estate companies.