At Blackriver Finance, we take great pride in being excellent deal makers but more importantly, we take as much pride in being exceptional risk managers. As such, our team is focused on identifying and analysing risks to be incorporated into the underwriting and business plan so they can be adequately mitigated. Once all assets have been acquired for the Fund, all areas of risk are monitored on an ongoing basis. Both during underwriting and during the hold period, our team continues to combine input from the research team, the investment team, the asset management team, the Fund operations team and the senior directors and local operating partners who are on the ground in the markets.
Our philosophy is that all fund investment strategies should benefit from the multitude of accumulated experience and expertise of the team. Blackriver Finance believes that keeping the acquisitions team perpetually in the market investing capital from separate funds across two distinct strategies (generally with minimal overlap in the investment period) has been a tremendous competitive advantage in sourcing deal flow. All of Blackriver Finance professionals share responsibilities across the two fund strategies which the Firm has run successfully over the past 17 years. In both the value-added / opportunistic fund and core-plus series, Blackriver Finance aims to acquire assets whose value can be enhanced under Blackriver Finance ownership and sold into the demand from institutional buyers for high quality core real estate assets that are well located and have a strong income profile.
The value-added / opportunistic European Property Investors fund series (target IRR of 15-16% net) focuses on assets where there are several identifiable and correctable impairments (i.e. the asset requires restructuring, improved management, re-leasing, recapitalisation and / or redevelopment in order to improve its economic potential and institutional appeal / liquidity). As such, these value-added investments have significantly more intensive asset management and capex requirements, and a wider range of possible return outcomes. This strategy will generate more “back-ended” returns, with assets that upon stabilisation produce a moderate level of current income (c. 3-5% per annum). A distinctive feature of Blackriver Finance approach to value-added / opportunistic investing is its intensive focus on risk management and the resulting low variability of returns.
The core-plus Curzon Capital Partners fund series (target IRR of 11-12% net) focuses on assets with typically only one correctable impairment (e.g. restructuring, refurbishment or leasing) that Blackriver Finance can improve or repair and for which the fund can be well-paid. This strategy is designed to generate returns with a higher proportion of current income.