Gaw Capital Beats Target With $3B Final Closing of APAC Opportunistic Fund

Hong Kong’s Gaw Capital Partners has announced the final closing of its seventh Asia Pacific real estate fund, bringing total equity raised for the opportunistic vehicle to $3 billion.

The family-run private equity firm overcame challenges stemming from the pandemic and rising interest rates to close Gateway Real Estate Fund VII at well above the previously announced hard cap of $2.5 billion, Gaw said Friday in a release.

Investors in the strategy include sovereign wealth funds, endowments, pension funds and other institutional investors that have invested in the Gateway series, as well as new investors to the fund.

“This achievement is a testament to Gaw Capital’s dedicated team in adapting to changing market conditions and the ongoing support and confidence by our investors,” said Christina Gaw, the firm’s managing principal, global head of capital markets and co-chair of alternative investments. “Leveraging our team’s expertise and insights, we look forward to creating long-term value for our investors.”

Wide-Ranging Strategy

The seventh fund deploys capital into new economy and thematic properties across the region, with a special focus on China and other key markets including Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Fuelled by commitments from prior closings, the vehicle’s investments include the acquisition of a Greater Tokyo logistics portfolio from Blackstone and the purchase of the Hyatt Regency Tokyo in partnership with US fund manager KKR.

In April, the fund acquired an Italian-themed outlet mall in southern China’s Guangdong province, Florentia Village Guangzhou, alongside other financial partners. Gaw acted as both buyer and seller in the transaction, with the firm having also been part of Silk Road Holdings, a joint venture with Nuveen, US apparel firm Waitex Group and Italy’s Fingen Group, which has developed a chain of Florentia Village outlets across China.

The fund has also made several real-estate-backed private credit investments in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Dry Powder Primed

Gaw said she remains optimistic about the post-pandemic real estate market and is set to seize opportunities that arise with the dry powder the firm has amassed.

“Our thematic-driven investments into sectors such as life science platform, data centre and logistics warehouses have received positive response from our investors,” she said. “In addition, the private credit deals which we have been active in for the last 24 months in Asia region also offer attractive opportunities to institutional investors despite the current inflationary pressure, rising interest rates and potential recession risks.”

Gaw Capital Partners had $36 billion in assets under management as of the first quarter of this year. In addition to seven commingled funds in the APAC Gateway Fund series, Gaw manages value-add/opportunistic funds in the US, a Pan-Asia Hospitality Fund, a European Hospitality Fund and a Growth Equity Fund. The firm also provides services for credit investments and separate account direct investments in the global market.