Frogmore targets $535m for UK fund

The London-based firm becomes the latest firm in Europe to hit the fundraising trail as it nears the end of the investment period for its current vehicle.

Frogmore has hit the fundraising trail for its latest value-add vehicle, Frogmore Real Estate Fund Partners III, with a target to raise £350 million (€434 million; $535 million) in equity commitments, PERE has learned.

The UK only-focused company fronted by Paul White, Jo Allen, Stuart Jenkin and Patrick Smith is understood to be targeting a similar capital haul to its first fund, Frogmore Real Estate Partners, which attracted £330 million in 2006. Frogmore raised a second fund through 2008 into 2009 in one of the toughest fund raising environments when it secured equity commitments of almost £200 million.

Like the managers of many other funds with a 2008 and 2009 vintage, Frogmore is coming towards the end of the investment period for fund II, predisposing the firm towards embarking on the fundraising trail for fund III.

The 40-strong team is based in the West End of London and is scouting a diverse pool of assets.

The first fund is thought to have around 16 assets of which the largest is a partnership with UK quoted property company, Land Securities, on 20 buildings in shopping mecca, Oxford Street, at the junction of Tottenham Court Road in London.

In the second fund, seven assets have been purchased ranging from retirement parks, a former US air force base in Oxfordshire, student accommodation, a data centre, two prime central London residential schemes and a partnership on the landmark office building, Centre Point, in Oxford Street.

The retirement investment is known as Britannia Parks and was purchased in April 2009 and exited in December last year. That deal delivered a return of more than 30 percent and a 2x multiple, say experts. 

Its fundraising efforts comes at a time when more than a dozen UK and European value add or opportunistic firms are either already fundraising or are expected to fundraise this year, giving rise to something that market participants have dubbed a ‘capital crunch’.