Fundraising

Quinlan Private to launch second fund this year

Following hot on the heels of the Dublin firm’s first private equity real estate fund, which closed on €400m this week, the firm is working on a second fund of roughly the same size.

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Quinlan Private, the Dublin-based property investment manager, is planning to raise its second private equity real estate fund later this year.

The firm founded by Derek Quinlan announced today the closure of its first institutional fund, European Strategic Real Estate, on €400 million ($630 million) of equity commitments from US investors. The fund will invest the equity alongside €325 million from Quinlan’s private UK and Irish clients in a separate vehicle, giving the firm a total investment capacity of €2.5 billion.

However, in an interview with PERE this month, principal and chief executive Olan Cremin said the firm would launch a second European fund later this year. The difference is that the new fund will target institutional investors from Europe and the Middle East, not just from the US.

“We deliberately concentrated our fundraising activities in the US as proof of concept,” said Cremin in the interview. “Now we are comfortable with how funds work. Having proved we can do it in the US, we are going to do it in Continental Europe as well.”

The European Strategic Real Estate fund raised €400 million for its first fund from a mix of institutional investors, endowments, foundations, life insurance companies and high net worth individuals throughout the US. The fund is expected to be fully invested by the end of 2008.

The vehicle has invested in real estate in Western Europe and the higher growth regions of Central and Eastern Europe where the firm has significant presence.

In a statement on the first fund, Derek Quinlan said: “We are pleased to report that the equity capital raised exceeds our initial objective. The fund provides investors with the opportunity to invest in those European markets in which we have dedicated expertise and an established presence carefully built over the past 19 years. Our investment strategy together with our distinct capabilities should, in time, enable us to deliver attractive returns for our investor group.”

See PERE’s May issue for the full interview with Quinlan Private.