Sares-Regis raises $305m for second RE fund – Exclusive

The California-based private equity real estate firm tripled the equity haul from its debut value-add fund by expanding its investor base globally.

The Sares-Regis Group has held a final close on $305 million for its second value-add multifamily fund, Sares-Regis Multifamily Value-Add Fund II, beating its original target of $250 million.

The Irvine, California-based private equity real estate firm held a first close on $75 million for the vehicle in May 2015 from existing limited partners.

Investors in the fund include insurance companies, public pension funds, wealth managers and other institutional investors in the US, Europe and Asia. Among the fund’s US public pension investors were the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, which committed $40 million; Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which earmarked $50 million; and New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, which doled out $30 million, according to PERE research.

The vast majority of limited partners in Sares-Regis’ debut fund, Sares-Regis Multifamily Fund, including the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana and New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, made follow-on investments to Fund II. However, the bulk of the capital raised in Fund II came from new investors, including European and Asian institutions. By contrast, its predecessor fund, which raised more than $100 million in March 2013, had no international investors.

Through its fund series, Sares-Regis pursues the renovation and repositioning of Class B multifamily properties in the western US. The fund’s geographic focus is in northern and southern California and the metropolitan areas of Seattle, Portland, Denver and Phoenix.

“The focused strategy of the fund allows for immediate deployment of investor capital to take advantage of numerous value-add acquisition opportunities in our pipeline,” said Ken Gladstein (pictured), president of Sares-Regis Multifamily Fund.

With leverage, the firm seeks to acquire approximately $850 million of assets through Fund II. To date, Sares-Regis has invested 20 percent of the fund’s capital in three investments, including the July acquisition of Mission Trails Apartments, a multifamily property located at 6975 Golfcrest Drive in San Diego from Jackson Square Properties, and the August 2015 purchase of Vista Pointe, a 216-unit multifamily community in Covina, California, from an undisclosed seller.

Accord Capital Partners, along with its affiliate, Accord Europe Limited, acted as exclusive placement agent to Sares-Regis.