How we ranked the Debt Fund 25

Background

The 2020 Real Estate Capital Debt Fund 25 ranking is based on the amount of capital raised for the purpose of real estate debt issuance with a sole focus on Europe by firms between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2019. We have given the highest priority to information that we receive from or confirm with the private real estate firms themselves. When private real estate firms confirm details, we seek to ‘trust but verify’. To encourage co-operation, we do not disclose which firms have aided us on background and which have not. Where we lack information from the firms themselves, we use resources such as company websites, press releases and limited partner disclosures.

What we count as European

The Debt Fund 25 counts capital raised for vehicles with the sole focus of deployment in Europe. Several managers also lend through multi-regional funds and mandates in the region. However, because the proportion of capital across such vehicles that is targeted at Europe cannot be consistently identified, multi-regional funds and mandates are not counted for the main ranking. We have separately ranked the five managers that have raised most capital for multi-regional strategies, including Europe.

Definitions

Private real estate debt

For the purposes of the Real Estate Capital Debt Fund 25, this is equity capital raised for a dedicated programme of issuing debt for property deals. The capital is raised primarily in blind-pool limited partnerships. These investment programmes are further distinguished in that they do not pursue ownership of the assets, but rather the financing of them.

Capital raised

This means capital definitively committed to a private real estate lending programme. In the case of a fundraising, it means the fund has had a final or official interim close after 1 January 2015. The full amount of a fund may be counted if it has a close after this date. And the full amount of an interim close – a real one, not a ‘soft-circle’ – may also be counted, even if no official announcement has been made. We also count capital raised through co-investment vehicles.

What counts?

Structures

• Limited partnerships
• Co-investment/side car vehicles
• Seed capital or manager commitment

Strategies

• Debt issuing funds
• Focused on lending in Europe exclusively

What does not count?

• Global or multi-regional real estate debt funds (even if they have exposure to the European market)
• Expected capital commitments
• Open-end funds
• Funds of funds
• Non-discretionary vehicles
• Secondaries vehicles
• Real estate equity funds (core, core-plus, value-add, opportunistic)
• Private equity
• Infrastructure
• Hedge funds
• Capital raised from affiliated entities
• Capital raised on a deal-by-deal basis
• Private real estate funds for which purchasing debt is part of the strategy