The below press release went out this morning. It's a good news story that shows the resiliency of grocery and food logistics.
On a related note, Slate Retail REIT also recently announced that, as of April 14th, it had already collected 80% of April rents and was outperforming the industry. At that time and based on industry feedback, the REIT estimated that a number of retail strip center landlords were seeing April rent collections in the range of 40-50%.
TORONTO and LONDON, April 23, 2020 /CNW/ -- Slate Asset Management ("Slate"), a leading alternative asset management platform with a focus on real estate, announced today the final close of its Slate European Real Estate Fund III ("Slate Europe III"). Consistent with its predecessor funds, Slate Europe III will target grocery real estate assets in Europe. The oversubscribed closed-end fund exceeded its target size of €200 million and closed at its hard-cap of €250 million.
"During this unprecedented time of market disruption, we are pleased to close Slate Europe III at its hard-cap and are thankful for the confidence investors from diverse geographies continue to place in us as Slate expands its presence across Europe," said Brady Welch, Slate's London-based Founding Partner. "We have been investing in last-mile logistics for some time and are proud to launch our third fund in the European grocery real estate space since 2016, a feat that underscores our commitment to the sector and validates the importance of last-mile solutions in the grocery real estate market."
Since December 2016, Slate has completed a total of 250 grocery property acquisitions in Europe comprising over 450,000 square meters of gross leasable space. Slate has European offices in London, Frankfurt, Dublin and Luxembourg.
About Slate Asset Management
Slate Asset Management is a leading real estate-focused alternative investment platform with over $6.5 billion in assets under management. Slate is a value-oriented manager and a significant sponsor of all of its private and publicly traded investment vehicles, which are tailored to the unique goals and objectives of its investors. The firm's careful and selective investment approach creates long-term value with an emphasis on capital preservation and outsized returns. Slate is supported by exceptional people, flexible capital and a demonstrated ability to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.
For Further Information
Investor Relations
+1 416 644 4264
ir@slateam.com
SOURCE Slate Asset Management L.P.
For two reasons, I really like Fred Wilson's recent blog post on hypothetical value to real value. Firstly, it is structured in the way that I think good blog posts are structured. He starts with a personal story (about this son) and then uses that to take a position and impart some knowledge about the venture capital industry. It makes for a more engaging read. Secondly, I like how he describes the journey and spread between hypothetical value and real value:
Venture capitalists and seed funds and angel investors make or lose money on the journey from hypothetical value to real value. And when the spread between the two narrows, the money we make is less. When the spread increases, the money we make is more. It is easier to drink your own Kool Aid in the world of hypothetical values. You handicap the odds of winning more aggressively. You trade ownership for capital at work. You accept the new normal. Real value doesn’t move so fast. Because it is right in front of you. You can see it. So it is not prone to flights of fancy. I try to keep this framework front and center in my brain as we meet with founders and work to find transactions that work for everyone. I find it to be a stabilizing force in an unstable market.
All of this is related to the notion that you make real money when you're right about something that most people think is wrong. Because that would be hypothetical value. If it were real value, then everyone would simply believe it. It would be "right in front of you." And this is pretty much true of all competitive marketplaces, including the real estate industry. Risk and uncertainty create opportunity.
Photo by James Sullivan on Unsplash
On Monday, Slate Asset Management announced a minority investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Petershill Program. This is great news, so here's a copy of the full press release that went out.
Toronto, August 19, 2019 – Slate Asset Management L.P. (Slate), a leading alternative asset management platform with a focus on real estate and real assets, today announced a passive, non-voting minority equity investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill program, creating a strategic relationship with one of the world’s leading investment managers and positioning Slate for future success. The transaction will have no impact on the control or decision making of Slate. The day-to-day operations and management of Slate will remain unchanged.
The investment provides capital that Slate will use to enhance its platform and increase its GP investments in current and future businesses and investment vehicles, further strengthening the firm’s alignment with its clients and investing partners.
The investment accelerates Slate’s goal to build the leading independent alternative investment platform in real estate and real assets. As part of the transaction, Slate Founders Blair and Brady Welch have made a long-term commitment to the business.
To date Slate has completed over $11 billion of transactions across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, through multiple vehicles spanning co-investments with global institutional partners, private equity funds and publicly-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts.
“This investment in our platform is an endorsement of our people, our strategy and our future,” said Brady Welch, co-founder of Slate. “For our investors and our team, this is excellent news; our strategy and model remain the same, and we can now benefit from our new relationship with Goldman.”
Blair Welch, co-founder of Slate, added that: “Since we started Slate nearly 15 years ago, we have showed that we can build tremendous value by providing our investors with a unique perspective, focusing on the fundamentals of the assets we acquire and delivering hands-on management that is innovative and creative. With our new relationship with Goldman Sachs, Brady and I are enthusiastic about what all of us at Slate can accomplish together over the next decade and beyond.”
“Slate Asset Management is an incredibly innovative, dynamic real-estate focused alternative asset management platform,” said Robert Hamilton Kelly, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Petershill program. “We are big believers in the strategy, the team and the model. We are excited to partner with Slate as they work to capture the opportunities before them.”
About Slate Asset Management
Slate Asset Management L.P. is a leading real-estate focused alternative investment platform with over $6 billion in assets under management. Slate is a value-oriented manager and a significant sponsor of all of its private and publicly-traded investment vehicles, which are tailored to the unique goals and objectives of its investors. The firm's careful and selective investment approach creates long-term value with an emphasis on capital preservation and outsized returns. Slate is supported by exceptional people, flexible capital and a demonstrated ability to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.
About Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s (GSAM) Petershill Program
The Petershill program is managed by GSAM’s Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group, which provides investors with investment and advisory solutions across leading private equity funds, hedge fund managers, real estate managers, public equity strategies and fixed income strategies. With investments in over 20 asset management firms, the Petershill program provides strategic capital to mid-sized asset management firms and has raised over $5 billion of commitments since inception. GSAM is one of the world’s leading investment managers with more than $1 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of June 30, 2019.
For more information:
Slate Asset Management
Katie Fasken
416-583-1785
Goldman Sachs
Patrick Scanlan
212-902-5400