Frogmore fund reaches quarter mark

The UK-focused firm has held a first close for its latest value-added fund, Frogmore Real Estate Partners III, with more than £90 million in commitments towards its £350 million target.

Frogmore, the UK-focused private equity real estate firm, has held a first close for its latest value-added vehicle, Frogmore Real Estate Partners III, which has an overall target of £350 million (€434 million; $535 million) in equity commitments.

The London-based company fronted by Paul White, Jo Allen, Stuart Jenkin and Patrick Smith held a first close last night of between £90 million and £100 million, according to sources, suggesting the firm has gone past the 25 percent mark in its fundraising effort. Frogmore officially began marketing in March, although investors were being lined up from the fourth quarter of last year when the firm reached the 75 percent invested threshold for Fund II.

Frogmore is understood to be targeting a similar capital haul to its first fund, Frogmore Real Estate Partners, which attracted £330 million in 2006. The firm raised a second fund throughout 2008 into 2009 during one of the toughest fundraising environments, when it secured equity commitments of almost £200 million. Frogmore declined to comment on its present round of fundraising, though re-upping among investors is said to constitute the bulk of the equity in Fund III so far.

As a UK-focused firm, Frogmore, which was founded in 1961 and employs around 40 people, has made investments in various property types across the country, including some high-profile London deals. For example, Fund I struck up a 50:50 joint venture with UK REIT Land Securities to develop a two-block project on Oxford Street, while Fund II invested in a stake in the iconic 244,000-square-foot Centre Point mixed-use tower in conjunction with fellow London-based firm, Almacantar. While Fund I made no residential investments, Fund II has gone into the sector numerous times, including a significant development near Canary Wharf called Baltimore Wharf.