Actis, a leading growth markets investor, is pleased to announce that it has reached final closing on its third opportunistic private real estate fund, Actis Africa Real Estate Fund 3 with commitments totalling more than $500m, comfortably exceeding its original $400m target.
ARE3 is the largest opportunistic private real estate fund targeting sub-Saharan Africa raised in the market to date. ARE3 has a diverse investor base, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions and endowments from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The new fund is significantly larger than Actis Africa Real Estate Fund 2, which closed in October 2012 with commitments of $278m.
ARE3 will invest predominantly in prime retail, office and industrial developments in the capital cities of 7 – 8 sub-Saharan African markets. Over the past decade, the team has invested in assets valued at $1.4 billion on a gross asset value basis.
The team is led by David Morley and includes two other partners, Amanda Jean-Baptiste and Louis Deppe and 11 other investment professionals across offices in London, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lagos.
David Morley said: “This successful fundraising is a further sign of confidence from our investors in our ability to identify the most compelling opportunities across Africa. With this new vehicle, they will satisfy part of the demand for institutional quality real estate in some of the fastest growing cities globally.”
Torbjorn Caesar, Senior Partner at Actis, said: “We are delighted that investors have chosen to recognise our track record by committing their capital to our third real estate fund, and we look forward to continuing our contribution to the development of cities across Africa. With our focus on real estate, energy and private equity, and its near-70 year heritage, Actis is uniquely placed to provide investors with access to the world’s growth markets.”
The fundraising was led by Actis with support from First Avenue.
About Actis
Actis is a leading investor in growth markets, delivering consistent competitive returns, responsibly. It has a growing portfolio of investments across Asia, Africa and Latin America and US$6.6bn assets under management today.
The firm invests through insights gained from trusted relationships and local knowledge, deep sector expertise and an unparalleled heritage, set within a culture of active ownership.
Applying developed market disciplines to growth markets, an established team of c. 90 investment professionals in ten countries identify investment opportunities in response to two trends: rising domestic consumption and the need for sustained investment in infrastructure across private equity, energy and real estate asset classes.
Actis is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an investor initiative developed by the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. Actis targets consistent superior returns across asset classes over the long-term, bringing financial and social benefits to investors, consumers and communities. It calls this the positive power of capital. www.act.is
About First Avenue
FIRSTavenue is a leading global advisory and capital placement business focused on private funds and private companies. FIRSTavenue covers the significant investors in the developed world and the developing world. FIRSTavenue is differentiated by the breadth and depth of its reach through five global offices and benefits from a large team of former pension consultants on staff. FIRSTavenue’s clients include the leading GPs and management teams across the key private market and industry sectors: private equity, private credit, real estate and real assets. www.firstavenue.com.
