AXA IM Alts raises over €4bn for its global CRE debt platform
AXA IM Alts raised over €4 billion for its €24 billion global commercial real estate debt platform over the past year, through the launch of new strategies and dedicated mandates, the global leader in alternative investments said.
Over the same period, AXA IM Alts invested €3 billion into investment opportunities across the entire capital stack, from senior whole loans through to transitional lending facilities and junior loans.
“This record capital raising on our Real Estate Debt Strategies reflects the growing investor appetite for private credit, including CRE debt,” said Florence Dard, global head of client group, Alts, AXA IM. “The higher returns delivered by the asset class in the current market environment have attracted new investors in Europe but also in North America and Asia, seeking yield pick-up and diversification to complement their existing private credit allocation.”
There is continued strong appetite from institutional investors wishing to capitalise on the favourable relative risk-adjusted returns available from private credit opportunities in commercial real estate, AXA IM Alts said. This appetite is further fuelled by the expectation that, while trending downwards, interest rates are expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future on a relative basis, as well as the ongoing bank retrenchment from the sector, maintaining the funding gap in the CRE debt market.
AXA IM Alts is also targeting additional lending opportunities to meet the funding requirements of investors and occupiers for ESG-focused capex strategies, against the backdrop of tightening energy efficiency regulations across real estate markets.
Over a third of the over €4 billion raised by AXA IM Alts came from new clients to the CRE debt platform, with the balance comprising commitments from existing institutional investors. AXA IM Alts raised capital from across the globe, from clients based in Europe, North America, and Asia.
The €3 billion deployed during the year has been invested into loans secured against high-quality assets across multiple real estate asset classes, with the majority in the logistics, residential and data centre sectors, supported by megatrends such as digitalisation and decarbonation.
AXA IM Alts expects the current fundamentals supporting the sector to continue into 2025, driving further opportunities to CRE lenders alongside increased transactions volumes in the real estate sector as the gap in price expectations of buyers and sellers continues to narrow, as well as refinancings.
“Building on its strong track record, AXA IM Alts has a boots-on-the-ground presence in global target markets for CRE debt deployment and in-depth expertise across asset classes,” said Antonio de Laurentiis, global head of private debt, real assets, AXA IM Alts. “These factors have supported our significant capital raising success over the past year and will continue to play an important role in the deployment of the balance of this latest fundraising milestone, as we seek to secure attractive returns through targeted lending into real estate projects underpinned by long-term structural trends.”