WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

(LONDON, UK) -- United Kingdom entrepreneurs Alex Price and Rob Bould are so sure of a near-future turnaround in the British commercial real estate markets they and their associates are putting their own money into a newly launched $261 million (£160m) international property acquisition fund.

The fund was launched in joint venture with London-based GVA Grimley Ltd. 

Alex Price

Investors in the Palmer GVA Property Fund LP include clients of ING Real Estate, Aviva Investors and Henderson Global Investors.

The fund also includes $11.4 million (c.£7m) of private investor money. That total includes $3.2 million (£2m) invested personally by directors of Palmer Capital and GVA Grimley.

Equity was raised from both institutional and private investors, says Palmer CEO Alex Price. "This is believed to be one of the few private property funds that have successfully closed this year," says Price. 

Price says the fund was oversubscribed, and has closed with equity raised of  $131 million (c.£80m).
 
The fund is a five-year closed ended vehicle and "will purchase assets with long dated income streams to good covenants in good locations," says Price
 

Rob Bould

The fund will buy lot sizes of up to $16 million (£10m), and will source its deals through a combination of the property companies in which Palmer Capital is invested, as well as GVA Grimley and other agents.
 
"We are delighted to close this fund in such a challenging fund raising environment," adds Price. "In March we predicted on the front page of Property Week the bottom of the market for this type of stock, and since then the market has confirmed our judgment.

"This fund will aim to capitalize on the market cycle that should see property increase in value over the next five years from what will seem an historic low today."

Rob Bould, chairman of GVA Grimley Capital Markets, notes:  "We are very pleased to have worked with Palmer Capital in the establishment of this new Fund and notwithstanding the current low volume of transactions in the market, we are already seeing interesting opportunities that will fulfill our buying criteria."  

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