Hampshire closes eighth fund

The Hampshire Companies, which has equity in assets valued at more than $2.5 billion, has held a final close on Hampshire Partners Fund VIII, raising $339 million from 20 investors, including endowments, foundations and public and private pension funds.

Fund VIII focuses on value-added opportunities among industrial, retail, suburban office, self-storage and medical office properties in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The fund currently is 20 percent invested in nine assets that have an aggregate value of approximately $200 million and will be acquiring about $750 million of real estate during its investment period.

“This fund offering achieved a tremendous amount of interest and consideration despite a challenging real estate environment,” said James Hanson II, Hampshire’s CEO and president, in a statement. “As a result, we had many repeat investors from prior fund offerings that were eager to be a part of Fund VIII, and they were instrumental in helping us establish relationships with new investors.”

In an October 2009 SEC filing, Hampshire had initially targeted $450 million for the fund. A year later, the firm amended the total offering amount to $350 million and reported that a first close on the fund occurred on 16 June 2010, raising nearly $145 million.