New Willis Bond development fund seeks $400m in property acquisitions
Property development and investment company Willis Bond has announced the establishment of its fourth major development fund, Willis Bond Capital Partners IV.
The fund has raised $172m of private equity with capacity to acquire up to $400m of value-add and development property assets.
While best known for landmark new builds such as its multiple awardwinning Wynyard Quarter apartment projects and commercial projects such as the PwC Centre in Wellington, Willis Bond has developed everything from bare land sites through to dilapidated wharves, waterfront warehouses, old department stores, heritage locations, and existing commercial buildings.
It is this broad mixed-use expertise that Willis Bond is now leveraging to secure projects for its new fund.
Fund chairperson and Willis Bond executive chairperson Mark McGuinness said: ‘‘As we move through the property cycle our versatility will serve us well. We are deal-driven and open to a wide range of opportunities, from new builds through to refurbishment options across all market sectors.’’
‘‘While we recognise there is uncertainty in the market right now, we take a long-term view and believe the market will present some interesting opportunities to add value through active management and development.
‘‘This fund will enable us to acquire several new opportunities over the next couple of years, and we are keen to hear what the market has to offer,’’ said McGuinness.
Willis Bond has a portfolio of large projects in Auckland, Wellington, and Tauranga but is open to invest in any high growth area nationwide.
The fund is also focused on delivering assets that are fit for a low-carbon future.
McGuiness said Willis Bond was equally focused on how they could reduce embodied carbon emissions by reusing existing building structures and employing gold-standard structural strategies to ensure buildings stand the test of time.
‘‘We are about to start building the largest mass-timber office building in New Zealand for the Tauranga City Council,’’ he said.
‘‘We also delivered the first and largest Homestar 7 rated apartment building in the country at Wynyard Quarter along with several other green developments around the country.’’
The launch of the fund Willis follows the 2020 $250m Property Investment Fund.
The new fund would take the amount raised by Willis Bond to nearly $800m in private equity to fund high-quality, mixed-use property assets through its five funds and a core investment base of wealthy individuals.