10

ACORE Capital

Capital raised: $4.1bn
Head office: San Francisco

A new entrant to the RED 50, ACORE Capital debuts within the top 10 with more than $4 billion of capital raised since January 1, 2015 for debt issuance. The firm launched ACORE CRE Debt Holdings last year and held a final close for ACORE Credit IV, its first real estate debt fund. The latter’s fund size is $556 million, with around $2 billion in separate account mandates.

ACORE was founded by head of originations Warren de Haan, head of credit Chris Tokarski, and co-heads of capital markets and operations Boyd Fellows and Stew Ward.

11

PCCP

Capital raised: $4bn
Head office: Los Angeles

PCCP has been providing commercial real estate debt and equity capital solutions in the US since 1998, raising, investing or managing over $21.8 billion of institutional capital. Although it has slipped out of the RED 50 top 10, it raised over $4 billion since 2015.

Led by founders Aaron Giovara, Donald Kuemmeler and Bill Lindsay, it originates senior and mezzanine loans secured by commercial real estate, loans on properties that are being repositioned, construction loans, loans on vacant buildings, and loans for discounted payoffs and discounted note acquisitions. It typically invests between $20 million and $300 million across US office, industrial, multifamily, retail, hospitality, residential and land.

12

Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies

Capital raised: $3.9bn
Head office: New York

Founded in 2013 by Richard Mack and Peter Sotoloff, Mack Real Estate Group provides real estate investment management services through multiple entities and business lines, with commercial real estate lending and debt investments forming a key component. Its alternative lending platform, Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies, was established in 2014, as elevated US commercial real estate prices made equity investments more challenging.

Last year, Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies launched MREF TT Co-Invest, with $65 million from Teacher Retirement System of Texas. In 2018, it launched the $225 million Mack Real Estate Finance fund, which is currently investing in the US.

13

Oaktree Capital Management

Capital raised: $3.7bn
Head office: Los Angeles

Oaktree Capital Management added real estate debt as a standalone strategy to invest capital in performing real estate debt on a global basis in 2010. A decade on, the team focuses on a broad range of transactions in the commercial and residential sectors, investing in both private loans and traded securities.

The firm launched Oaktree Real Estate Debt Fund III in December 2019. The fund is a follow-up commercial real estate debt investment fund, following on the heels of Fund II, which closed in 2018 on more than $2 billion. The firm’s real estate debt strategy is led by John Brady and Justin Guichard.

14

LaSalle Investment Management

Capital raised: $3.6bn
Head office: Chicago

A top 10 firm last time out, LaSalle Investment Management dips to 14th but has only raised $85 million less than it had for the 2019 RED 50. The firm has been investing in real estate debt and equity in the UK and Germany since 2009 through its closed-end LaSalle Real Estate Debt & Special Situations Fund series.

LaSalle launched LaSalle Real Estate Debt Strategies IV in October 2019 with a target size of €1 billion. It also held a final close – £54 million above target – on £804 million ($994.4 million; €916 million) for LaSalle Real Estate Debt Strategies III in November 2017.

15

BentallGreenOak

Capital raised: $3.4bn
Head office: New York

BentallGreenOak, formed through a merger between Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate in July 2019, is an affiliate of SLC Management. The firm is led by CEO Gary Whitelaw, president Sonny Kalsi and senior managing partner John Carrafiell and has more than 1,300 employees in 10 countries across the globe. It specializes in office, retail, industrial and multi-residential property.

BentallGreenOak ranks three places higher than GreenOak did in the 2019 RED 50, having raised some $725 million more. The GreenOak debt platform was established in 2012 and is based in London.

16

Torchlight Investors

Capital raised: $3bn
Head office: New York

Torchlight Investors increased its capital raised since the 2019 RED 50 by 50 percent, which moved it up the ranking and into the top 20. The most recent of its six debt funds – Torchlight Debt Opportunity Fund VI – held a final close in February 2019 at $1.7 billion, above the $1.5 billion target size.

Torchlight pursues investments across the spectrum of debt and other interests relating to commercial real estate, including senior and mezzanine mortgage loans, CMBS, preferred equity and equity positions. The firm, established in 1995, is led by founder Daniel Heflin.

17

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors

Capital raised: $3bn
Head office: Los Angeles

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors launched its first real estate debt fund in 2016 and held a final close on its third fund, Kayne Real Estate Debt Fund III, at $1.04 billion in December 2018. The debt team is led by co-portfolio managers and managing directors Karen Kulvin and Andrew Smith.

Kayne Anderson invests in alternative commercial real estate sectors that are characterized by lack of capital, operational intensity, fragmented ownership and recession resistance. The firm invests in medical office, seniors housing, student housing and self-storage across opportunistic equity, open-end core equity, and debt.

18

Brookfield Asset Management

Capital raised: $3bn
Head office: Toronto

Flying the flag for Canada, Brookfield Asset Management’s $4.8 billion purchase of a majority stake in Oaktree Capital Management is set to further strengthen its real estate debt capabilities. Brookfield was a top 10 firm in the 2019 RED 50 and stays in the top 20 thanks to almost $3 billion raised from 2015-2019.

It held a final close for Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund V at $3 billion in November 2017 and is currently investing in mezzanine debt through the origination of financing for high-quality properties in major markets across the US. Its first vehicle closed in 2004.

19

KKR

Capital raised: $2.9bn
Head office: New York

KKR moves up one place from the rank it achieved in the inaugural RED 50. It launched KKR Real Estate Credit Opportunity Partners II (RECOP II) in March 2019 with commitments from Indiana Public Retirement System and Virginia Retirement System. The first RECOP fund closed at the end of 2017 on $1.1 billion. RECOP invests in junior tranches of new issue commercial mortgage-backed securities.

KKR also operates KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, an externally managed real estate investmet trust focusing on originating senior commercial mortgage loans on transitional properties. The real estate credit team is led by Matt Salem.