The Real Estate Debt 50: Largest Global Real Estate Debt Managers

The 2025 Real Estate Debt 50 ranking is based on the amount of capital raised for the purpose of real estate debt issuance by firms between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024 as well as capital raised for funds that were actively fundraising at the end of the counting period.

For the purpose of the rankings, we only count closed-end funds for which the fund manager has full discretion over the investment process, from selection over management to exit. As a consequence, we only accept blind-pool funds in which LPs cannot exercise investment decisions and have no liquidity options before the end of the (multiple years long but finite) fund life, without approval from the GP. Funds must invest solely into private real estate debt assets and GP commitments (for interest alignment only) can be included, too. Capital committed by affiliated entities as well as fund leverage is not eligible. Finally, we do not count funds of funds as well as recycled or rolled-over capital from previous fundraises.

We also count capital raised for co-investments and separately managed accounts, as long as they either fulfill the above criteria, or serve as an “extension” of the main funds’ fundraise, even if the above criteria is not fully met. “Extension” is here defined as vehicles that invest alongside a selection of the portfolio assets of their respective main funds. We do not accept deal-by-deal fundraises.

For funds in market, capital raised via actual LP commitments which were made before the end of the counting period can be included, too. We cannot include commitments made after the end of the counting period nor do we accept targets or expected commitments. For open-end funds that launched prior to the beginning of the counting period, we only count capital raised entirely within the five-year counting period.

Real estate debt is coming off two years in the spotlight following strong investor demand amid rising interest rates. But in 2023, the broader slowdown in real estate capital commitments finally came for the strategy. This slowing growth is reflected in this year’s Real Estate Debt 50 ranking, with that cohort’s total capital raised inching up only 3 percent year-on-year, compared with the previous year’s 19 percent growth. However, against an 11-year fundraising low for overall private real estate fundraising, this shows the strength of appetite for debt.

Real estate managers have had a challenging year on the fundraising trail, with commitments largely drying up amid the return of the denominator effect on institutional portfolios.

The 50 largest capital raisers in the real estate debt space, however, have bucked the slowdown in wider real estate fundraising. Over the past five years, managers ranked in PERE’s 2023 Real Estate Debt 50 have secured an aggregate $267 billion for real estate credit strategies. This represents an increase of 19 percent on last year’s cohort.

Although these headline figures are strong, our analysis of the RED 50 reveals some stark divergence in fortunes, particularly when applying a regional lens. Such fault lines help to illuminate the outlook for real estate credit globally at a critical time in the evolution of the strategy.

Real estate debt funds are part of an exponentially growing alternative finance offering for commercial property borrowers, filling a void left by bank lenders following the global financial crisis in 2008. As this year’s RED 50 indicates, they stand toe-to-toe with any other form of non-bank lenders. This year, the 50 captured an aggregate $224.26 billion, 18 percent more than last year’s iteration. Last year’s ranking was 20 percent bigger than the inaugural ranking of 2020.

Within this aggregate total, signs of sector maturation abound. There is a growing acceptance by institutional investors that real estate debt funds are no longer the sole preserve of stout-hearted lenders and borrowers willing to accept high risk for high returns, but now also for stable debt issuance and core property activity, too. As one manager told us, less than a decade ago, few investors would countenance a 10 percent return from a credit strategy commitment. Nowadays, looking for a “safe place to earn a 10 has become thematic in our industry.”

The receding of bank commercial real estate lending coupled with the growing institutionalization of real estate generally means this is a market with plenty of runway ahead. Unsurprisingly, more firms are getting in on the act. This year’s ranking has six new firms. That tandems with other key takeaways, including the dispersion of managers and rise of private equity managers. Responsible for almost 24 percent of the capital raised, New York still dominates as the unofficial early home of real estate debt funds, but its grip has been loosened by other cities, particularly in the US, where many of these firms are based. With Europe playing catch-up and Asia barely started, expect the sector, and the RED 50 with it, to keep growing.

Which private real estate strategies have proved most pandemic-proof? Logistics and multifamily, sure; data centers have proven popular, too. But when it comes to placing equity into transactions with notable downside protection, few strategies are beating real estate credit.

Certainly, the investors that pumped up this year’s PERE Real Estate Debt 50 by 20 percent on last year’s aggregate total think so. Indeed, at $189.3 billion, the RED 50 is the biggest it has ever been, proving that property credit strategies continue to command a place in today’s institutional real estate portfolio.

In the past year, more than 44 percent of the total capital raised for real estate debt strategies was for second-placed Blackstone’s $8 billion Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies IV alone. Blackstone’s fund was one of 23 raised in the past 12 months, a marked drop on the 40 vehicles raised in the previous year. This is demonstrative of how investors are not clambering for real estate credit strategies generally, so much as they are for real estate credit strategies offered by marquee brands.

Compiled by PERE’s research & analytics team, the top 50 ranking of global private real estate debt fund managers – The PERE RED 50 – is based on the capital raised for the purpose of real estate debt issuance between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019. Access our in-depth analysis now.