Real estate emerging managers to watch in 2025
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Despite transaction values seeing a rebound in 2024, real estate fundraising is continuing the negative trend seen in recent years.
With the monetary-tightening cycle, spanning nearly three years, nearing its end as major central banks announce interest rate cuts, activity in real estate capital markets has picked up. However, this has yet to be reflected on the fundraising trail for property investment vehicles.
2024 has seen some of the same trends of the previous year, with LPs targeting established asset managers to the detriment of first-time players. Opportunistic and value-add strategies have been attracting most capital, although core funds are back in business as GPs redefine and rotate core portfolios to include niche assets in an attempt to reduce investor redemptions. Meanwhile, real estate debt has seen several asset managers launching products for the first time, as traditional lenders have been silently retreating from this space.
In this scenario, it is even more difficult for real estate emerging managers to stand out.
Yet, according to data tracked by With Intelligence, in November 2024 there were 22 fund launches between real estate equity and credit, out of which 13 were first-time funds. Similarly, the following month has seen 15 debut fund launches in real estate, eight of which were new entrants.
Similarly, With Intelligence has tracked several pedigreed pros who have left established firms to start new businesses. These are the top real estate asset manager launches to watch in 2025:
AG Paratus | James Gabriel, Scott Avram | New York
Former Guggenheim Partners vice president James Gabriel has teamed up with an exLightstone pro Scott Avram to launch a new real estate manager.
Based in New York City, the duo has started AG Paratus.
The company will specialize in debt and equity special situation investments for both residential and commercial developments, including hospitality.
Avra | Justin Meissel | London
The former CIO of Henley Investment Management founded a new firm focusing on real estate called Avra Capital Partners.
Justin Meissel launched Avra earlier in 2024, focusing also on venture capital and private equity investments.
Meissel launched the built environment-focused asset manager after working for Henley for seven years.
Henley joined the London-based asset manager as COO before taking up the role of CIO and managing director of Europe in 2018.
Prior to Henley, Meissel was a principal at Blackstone, where he worked on UK and European real estate.
Bridgestone | Vaughan Essumai | London
Former Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) pro Vaughan Essumai launched real estate private equity firm Bridgestone Capital.
Essumai launched London-based Bridgestone, a pan-European property specialist, after spending after spending three years with LGIM. Prior to that, he also worked for Blackstone.
It is understood that last summer the new investment outfit was already managing £300m ($387m) in assets across education, healthcare, assisted living and green development.
The firm also offers bespoke lending solutions, supporting growth throughout the UK and Europe’s real estate markets.
It operates acquisition and development, from sourcing to exit strategies, investment, targeting an 8% return over a three-to-five-year term, and finance, providing loans to other developers.
Essumai launched Bridgestone Capital after working at LGIM as an assistant business partner in real estate funds for over three years, where he managed real estate debt, analyzed fund performance and oversaw significant transactions.
Caro Investors | Careina Williams | Chevy Chase
Former Artemis Real Estate Partners pro Careina Williams is targeting $400m for the debut fund of her newly-launched real estate manager.
Caro Investors, a credit-based manager in Chevy Chase, Maryland, is in the market with a new US real estate debt strategy.
The new firm aims to deploy capital into middle-market private debt investments with exposure to commercial real estate through high-yield senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and, to a lesser extent, distressed debt.
Its first fund will focus on what the firm believes to be ‘resilient’ product types, which include multifamily, industrial, investment-grade quality retail and other defensive real estate sectors.
Caro’s strategy emphasizes investments in markets and sectors that demonstrate favorable supply-demand characteristics. This includes primary, secondary and tertiary markets across the US.
Prior to founding Caro, Williams was a managing director and portfolio manager of the Sundance Bay Debt Opportunity Fund.
Derby Lane | Adam Piekarski | New York
The former co-head of real estate credit at BDT & MSD Partners launched a new real estate asset manager last year and is raising money for its first fund.
Adam Piekarski will be leading Derby Lane, a New York-based real estate private equity firm specializing in commercial real estate debt.
The company’s first fund will be targeting $300m to $600m.
Piekarski served at MSD Partners over a 12-year period prior to the merger between BDT & Company and MSD Partners, Michael Dell’s family office.
He was initially a managing director in its credit opportunities group before acceding to his most recent position under the firm’s new moniker.
Evonite | Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarriere, Kevin Muscat | London
Former Patrizia executives Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarriere, and Kevin Muscat launched London-based Evonite after leaving the German asset manager.
Evonite invests in Europe and the UK, focusing on value-add opportunities, including logistics in France, Barcelona, London and Berlin.
The firm sees also opportunities in bringing in a new strategy focusing on performance rather than scale.
“We’ve all grown a bit disillusioned with the industry over the last five to seven years. We’ve observed, in Europe at least, that managers appear to have become more focused on business scaling and AuM growth, rather than performance. The philosophy of putting performance first seems to have drifted away from the central focus,” Hampton told With.
The trio left Patrizia last year when the €47bn ($50.7bn) manager lost half of its flagship European value-add fund executives.
JEMM Real Estate Partners | Candace Chao, Jeff Gdansky, Matthew Meltsner, Eytan Saperstein | New York
A longtime portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management and a trio of Chetrit Group veterans are launching their own credit-focused real estate firm.
Candace Chao, Jeff Gdansky, Matthew Meltsner and Eytan Saperstein are working on the debut of JEMM Real Estate Partners.
The firm will target commercial real estate opportunities in the New York metropolitan area as well as other core US markets.
JEMM is targeting an annual return for the fund between 13-15%, according to sources familiar with the plans.
The New York-based firm’s loan amounts will be between $5m and $25m, with generally up to 70% loan to value and a term of loan of up to 24 months.
Matterhorn Venture Partners | Scott McKibben, Matt Kay | Chicago
Two former executives at Brennan Investment Group teamed up to launch a new real estate private equity firm.
Chicago-based Matterhorn Venture Partners focuses on a diversified range of commercial real estate assets for a national individual and institutional investor base.
CEO Scott McKibben also co-founded and served as a CIO and managing principal at Brennan, while CIO Matt Kay worked as a vice president and co-head of net lease acquisitions at the $6bn firm.
The firm will employ value-add and development strategies specifically for retail, office, multifamily, and industrial properties with varying transaction sizes across the US.
It will specifically focus on revitalizing existing retail properties, revamping multifamily units, updating industrial assets, and enhancing office buildings.
Town Lane | Tyler Henritze | New York
Tyler Henritze, Blackstone’s former head of real estate acquisitions and strategic investments in the Americas, launched his own real estate private equity manager earlier in 2024.
Headquartered in Manhattan, Town Lane Management was eyeing $1bn for its first closed-end value-add and opportunistic fund, Town Lane Real Estate Opportunities Fund I.
Fund I will have a diversified investor base composed of family offices, foundations and Ivy League endowments, with a minimum commitment of $20m.
Town Lane will invest in a diversified range of asset types, specifically warehouses, hotels, and multifamily properties located throughout the Sun Belt.
Henritze worked at Blackstone over a 19-year period in various roles until June of last year, first as a managing director and then as head of its real estate acquisitions in the Americas before acceding to head of strategic investments.
Wandle Real Estate Partners | Angus Dodd, Peter Sockett, Robert Widrig | London
A former Lone Star co-head of European real estate launched a new manager with two others.
Angus Dodd has founded UK-based Wandle Real Estate Partners with Peter Sockett and Robert Widrig.
The new firm aims to provide a comprehensive suite of services to clients from underwriting, investment management, development management to capital raising.
It is sector agnostic despite the trio having expertise in the living sectors, life sciences, offices and hotels.
The new asset manager can invests in all commercial and residential sub-sectors and would also take on operational real estate deals.
It will also underwrite different investment types including direct and indirect investments, distressed assets and loans.
Ones to watch 2025: Real Estate
| Firm | Founder(s) | Pedigree | Location | Sector | Asset Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG Paratus | James Gabriel, Scott Avram | Guggenheim Partners, Lightstone | New York | Residential, commercial | Equity, debt |
| Avra | Justin Meissel | Henley Investment Management | London | Environment-focused | Equity |
| Bridgestone | Vaughan Essumai | LGIM | London | Living, development | Equity |
| Caro Investors | Careina Williams | Sundance Bay | Chevy Chase | Commercial | Debt |
| Derby Lane | Adam Piekarski | BDT & MSD Partners | New York | Commercial | Debt |
| Evonite | Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarriere, Kevin Muscat | Patrizia | London | Logistics | Equity |
| JEMM | Candace Chao, Jeff Gdansky, Matthew Meltsner, Eytan Saperstein | JPMorgan AM | New York | Commercial | Debt |
| Matterhorn | Scott McKibben, Matt Kay | Brennan Investment Group | Chicago | Diversified | Equity |
| Town Lane | Tyler Henritze | Blackstone | New York | Diversified | Equity |
| Wandle RE Partners | Angus Dodd, Peter Sockett, Robert Widrig | Lone Star | London | Diversified | Equity, Debt |
Source: With Intelligence