GreenPoint Partners, the investment management business launched by ex-Macquarie real estate boss Chris Green, is to raise its first real estate fund.

The firm has set a fundraising target of $1 billion for the vehicle, which is understood to comprise a traditional commingled fund alongside a programmatic joint venture for direct co-investments, called GreenPoint Real Estate Private Equity I.

Advisory firm Sera Global and Nomos Group are thought to have been enlisted to assist with its capital-raising effort.

Green: has established a manager with three focuses

Green, who was previously global head of real estate at Australia’s Macquarie Group, established GreenPoint in 2019, initially bringing to market its Technology Fund I, a vehicle devised to make investments in technologies serving the real estate, infrastructure, energy and agriculture sectors.

The firm collected $200 million of commitments for the fund and co-investment vehicles from investors including Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Ivanhoé Cambridge, and managers Lendlease, Greystar, Berkshire Residential Investments and Charter Hall.

Since then, GreenPoint has raised and deployed further equity into three direct real estate strategies, including a £305 million ($365 million; €344 million) investment in an NCP-leased UK car parks portfolio and a £200 million commitment to a vehicle managed by Infinium Logistics focused on electric 3PL vehicle-charging logistics infrastructure.

The firm is expected to soon announce a third investment into Semi-Stow, an Austin-based truck parking and trailer storage operator in a deal expected to be valued at about $500 million.

PERE understands approximately $500 million has been committed to these three strategies so far from investors including GCM Grosvenor, which contributed about half the equity, Ivanhoé Cambridge and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

The incoming commingled fund is expected to be used to further capitalize these strategies and make investments in between three and four more strategies in North America and Western Europe.

Investments are expected to generate value-add-level returns of between 15 and 20 percent, assuming leverage at no higher than a loan-to-value of 50 percent.

A successful fundraise would complete Green’s three-pronged strategic vision for GreenPoint Partners. In addition to technology and direct real estate/real estate operating companies investments, the firm is also targeting sustainable and climate-related investments.

A first climate investment has been made in Australia. GreenPoint, alongside Sydney-based logistics firm Goodman Group and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australia’s Green Bank, have committed A$65 million ($43.8 million; €41.33 million) to the acquisition of 500,000 acres of farmland expected to sequester approximately 7.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

Neither GreenPoint Partners, Sera Global nor Nomos Group would comment.