2017 Global PERE Awards

Get the full scoop with our write-ups on each award by region

2017 AWARDS

Global

 

2017 AWARDS

North America

 

2017 AWARDS

Europe

 

2017 AWARDS

Asia

 

2017 AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement- Patrick Kanters

 

March is upon us once again, and that means it’s time to reveal the latest batch of triumphs in the eagerly anticipated PERE Global Awards.

Voting closed in early January and PERE’s faithful has been itching to learn which individuals and organizations lit up the private real estate investment market in 2017 – a fact made clear to us by all the phone calls received between then and now. These are the market’s leading industry awards, voted for entirely by its participants, so we know you care about who wins.

As such, it is with some relief we reveal the winners now. As is the case most years, there were some predictable victories – or hauls, in the case of Blackstone – among the 44 categories. But there was still room for a few surprises.

Starting with the New York-based sector juggernaut, Blackstone scored one less trophy than it managed in 2016, but that still meant it bagged eight. On the other hand, its frequent rival in these awards, Starwood Capital, fared meaningfully better than it did 12 months ago. The Miami-headquartered firm managed just half Blackstone’s number, but for a firm with approximately half the assets under management and geographical footprint, that achievement was no mean feat. What’s more, Starwood’s total was four times the single award it managed last year: founder Barry Sternlicht’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Also multiplying its awards successes was law firm Clifford Chance, which added to its Europe Law Firm double last year with victories in the North America and Asia Law Firm of the Year – Fund Formation categories. Meanwhile, Nick Weber, the former Mount Kellett executive and his new firm, Henderson Park, stormed onto the leader board with wins in the Industry Figure of the Year and Firm of the Year categories.

Europe’s categories saw a number of podium handovers with wins for Ares Management in Germany, LaSalle Investment Management in France, AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets in Spain and Ardian in Italy. In Asia, Lend Lease prized the Firm of the Year – Australia award from Blackstone, The Xander Group did likewise from Piramal in India and Blackstone from GLP in Japan.

Notably, and perhaps in a reflection of the greater efforts being overseen by fewer managers in the sector these days, of the 44 categories there were just 27 winners, down from 31 last year.

Inevitably, where there are winners there are also losers. Some firms are aggrieved when they lose out on an award, others when they are not even nominated. But we believe our system is both rigorous and fair. Nominees are selected via a lengthy process that involves pouring over research collected on the most active capital providers, managers and advisors. Senior team members from PERE and parent company PEI Media then consult trusted industry leaders to construct an impartial shortlist. For the second time, we have also invited companies to submit nomination proposals to be considered for our awards shortlist – these were not a prerequisite nor a guarantee of inclusion. From then, it is down to the market to vote on its champions.

And vote you did – we counted more than 6,500 votes across the categories. See the link sidebar (above) to our regional write-ups to find out what those votes did to secure glory for private real estate’s latest selection of leading lights.