LaSalle holds second close for latest Canada fund

LaSalle Investment Management has held a second close on its latest Canada-focused offering, Canadian Income & Growth (CIG) Fund IV, PERE has learned. The Chicago-based investment manager, which has secured approximately C$216 million ($198 million; €148 million) for the value-added vehicle thus far, is targeting an equity haul of C$250 million and a final close date on or before December 20.

LaSalle held a first close for CIG IV last December on C$110 million. The fund has attracted capital from such investors as pension plans, endowments and national trusts.  Of the seven clients who have committed capital, four have existing relationships with the manager.

“We are very pleased with the support we have received from investors and the confidence they have in our track record and strategy,” said Zelick Altman, LaSalle managing director and Canada chief executive officer, in a statement. “We look forward to investing the capital in investments that will meet our objectives for return and growth.”

LaSalle will pursue a diversified portfolio of assets for the fund, investing in office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties throughout Canada’s top six metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. CIG IV will target assets near the edge of core business districts of each city in order to capitalize on the growing urbanization trend, as well as the movement to bring industrial sites closer to urban areas.

“We’re keying in on ecommerce and how that trend is going to affect demand for industrial,” Altman told PERE.

To date, LaSalle has invested C$30 million of the equity in CIG IV, investing in a C$70 million portfolio of three suburban offices in Edmonton and Calgary. The firm, which has another two transactions under contract, plans to write equity checks around C$30 million for each investment and use maximum leverage of 60 percent per deal. All told, a C$250 million raise will give CIG IV around C$600 million of buying power.

LaSalle is targeting a net internal rate of return of 10 percent or higher for CIG IV. The previous vehicle in the series, CIG III, closed on C$228 million in equity in 2009.