Pamfleet launches debut $330m Asia fund

Pamfleet Group is seeking to raise $330 million in equity for its first closed-ended, commingled real estate fund, targeting distressed assets in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The firm, formed in 2000 through a management buyout of former Hong Kong bank Jardine Fleming’s direct property fund management business, aims to achieve a net IRR of between 17 percent to 20 percent from the seven-year vehicle.

According to a marketing document viewed by PERE, the fund, named Pamfleet Real Estate Fund, will invest in the office and retail sectors of the two cities over three years. The firm is planning to deploy leverage of between 50 percent to 60 percent for the vehicle. The document adds the fund will target assets with “repositioning and value-add opportunities”.

The fundraise comes after the firm built up a track record in investing in office, retail and residential assets through joint venture partnerships. Since its inception, Pamfleet has originated and managed more than $1 billion of assets in Asia. Since 2003, Pamfleet has been involved in $352 million of equity investments, generating IRRs of 87 percent and a 2.7x multiple.

Pamfleet said in the document: “Rents and occupancies of office and retail properties in both cities have fallen sharply from their peaks and have yet to bottom out. There are likely to be opportunities for PREF to acquire and upgrade underperforming assets through repositioning and rebranding.”

The fund administrator of the vehicle is Langham Hall.