Fund Management
Singapore's Paragon Teams Up With RealVantage For New Fund
The fund invests across equity, debt capital and mezzanine debt opportunities.
Singapore-headquartered Paragon Capital Management, which announced a North Asia venture a few days ago, has teamed up with property platform RealVantage – an Asia-based group – to create what they called the Global Real Etate Alternative and Tactical Fund. It started with an inaugural $50 million in money.
The GREAT Fund, as it is also called, completed its first close on 31 May with a 75 per cent subscription volume within a month from launch. The fund is aiming at an overall target net internal rate of return of 12 to 15 per cent over five years, including a projected 4 to 5 per cent cash yield to be distributed quarterly. It uses the skills of established property managers in Asia-Pacific, Australia, the UK and US. It invests across equity, mezzanine and debt capital opportunities. (Mezzanine financing is a hybrid of debt and equity financing that gives the lender the right to convert the debt to an equity interest in the company in case of default, generally, after venture capital companies and other senior lenders are paid. In terms of risk, it exists between senior debt and equity.)
Co-founder and CEO of Paragon, Paul Lee, conceived the fund alongside Keith Ong, co-founder and CEO of RealVantage.
Paragon has been busy. Earlier in June, it set up a North Asia presence in the form of Paragon Capital Management (HK) Private Limited. In total, the Paragon business has more than S$1 billion ($742 million) in client AuM.