White Peak raises first capital for $450m China fund – Exclusive

The Beijing-headquartered real estate manager that primarily raises capital from Nordic investors is currently in the market with its fourth China opportunistic fund.

White Peak Real Estate, a Beijing-headquartered real estate investment manager, has raised 1 billion yuan ($150 million; €128 million) in the first close of its latest China-focused opportunistic vehicle.

The firm launched White Peak Real Estate Investment IV, the fourth in the series of opportunistic vehicles investing in real estate development projects in China, in the beginning of this year with a hard-cap target of 3 billion yuan, a person familiar with the fundraising confirmed with PERE.

The first close, completed in June, is understood to include commitments from existing investors in the firm’s earlier funds, including a Swedish public pension fund.

Like its predecessors, the latest vehicle will be invested in commercial and residential property developments in the country. The fund is targeting typical opportunistic returns of around 20 percent.

Meanwhile, White Peak Real Estate Investment III closed on 812 million yuan early last year. According to PERE’s earlier reports, the firm had set a much higher capital raising target of 2 billion yuan when the fund was first launched in June 2015.

White Peak Real Estate, led by founder and chief executive Jesper Jos Olsson, invests in China only through the opportunistic fund series. The firm has a residential portfolio of 21 million square feet in the country.

In 2013, White Peak opened an office in Hong Kong to assist in fund management. However, PERE has learned that that office was closed last year. The firm’s operations are now centralized in Beijing with 60 employees.