Pro-invest Group, a Sydney-based boutique investment firm, is on the cusp of closing its debut Australia and New Zealand-focused private equity real estate fund on A$300 million (€202 million; $229 million).
PERE has learned that the firm is weeks away from wrapping up fundraising for the hospitality-focused vehicle. The Australia Hospitality Opportunity (AHO) fund was launched in late 2014 with a A$250 million target, but Pro-Invest ultimately decided to increase the fund size to A$300 million.
The capital has been corralled from ten institutional investors in total, including family offices, high-net-worth individuals and institutions from the US and Asia. The minimum commitment was set at A$10 million. PERE had previously revealed the firm’s second close of AHO at A$250 million in January.
The firm has five years to deploy the capital and is targeting the development of Holiday Inn Express hotels, a 3-star business hotel segment across Australia and New Zealand. The firm has already identified a pipeline of projects, of which five hotels are currently under development. The first of these will be in Sydney and is slated to open by in the coming weeks. In total, Pro-Invest expects to deploy the entire fund corpus in the development of 10 to 12 hotels.
Pro-invest was founded in 2010 and has offices in Australia, Europe and the Middle East. Its headquarters in Sydney employs a staff of around 20 people.
By: Arshiya Khullar