Gaw Capital’s Goodwin Gaw just completed a banner year for fund-raising
Gaw Capital Partners is expecting a record haul of $1.8 billion in fresh capital for its Hong Kong-based real estate investment management business, according to a report today in industry journal Private Equity Real Estate.
The new funding includes a $1.3 billion final close for the investment management firm’s Gaw Capital Real Estate Fund V, which was first launched in November 2015. Another $500 million is being collected for investment in separate accounts, the report revealed, citing sources familiar with the fundraising.
Gaw Capital Real Estate Fund V is a pan-Asian fund opportunity, which had originally set a fund-raising target of $1.5 billion, according to earlier accounts. The fund reached a first closing in April 2016, followed by a second closing of $890 million in August.
Mainland China Still a Primary Target
Approximately 70 percent of the funds raised for Gaw Capital Real Estate Fund V are likely to be headed into retail and office assets in China, with the fund also targetting Japan, Korea and Vietnam, according the account. Around $300 million of the capital is said to have already been deployed.
Gaw Capital has grown from a family run business to become one of the most active real estate private equity shops in the region. In 2016 the company transacted more than $3 billion via 19 deals, including acquisitions in 15 cities.
Closing on Pan Asia Fund the Latest Milestone for Gaw
In addition to its latest opportunity fund, Gaw has been active in setting up and managing a number of other real estate investment vehicles globally in the past year.
In May 2016 the fund manager announced its intention to spend $300 million to $400 million on property Japan, with the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya being major targets. Then in June, the Hong Kong firm was revealed as having teamed up with global property investment manager TH Real Estate to launch a new $2 billion fund dedicated to outlet retail deals in China.
In October 2016 Gaw announced an A$200 million opportunistic investment fund targeting industrial assets in major cities along Australia’s east coast together with local real estate investment firm Abacus Property Group. With Chinese interest in UK opportunities growing after the Brexit decision Gaw teamed up with a British partner in November to launch a $1.2 billion “Education Bond” to allow wealthy Chinese who study in the UK an opportunity to gain permanent residency.
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