BKM Capital Announces Final Closing of Debut Fund with $105 Million in Equity Commitments
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., (February 18, 2016) – BKM Capital Partners, an institutional fund manager with a niche focus on value-add, multi-tenant industrial investments, has announced the final close of its debut institutional fund, BKM Industrial Value Fund I, L.P., with $105 million in equity commitments and $300 million in buying power.
The fund’s commitments come from both institutional investors as well as a small pool of high net worth investors.
“We took an approach that is different than other first time funds,” says Brian Malliet, CEO and Co-Founder of BKM Capital Partners and Nima Taghavi, Executive Chairman of BKM Capital Partners. “Rather than immediately pursuing institutional capital after launching our business, we invested our own capital to build out a real organization.”
According to Malliet, BKM recruited and hired a highly experienced management team with a proven track record in operating in an institutional grade real estate investment fund business. The firm also raised a friends and family round in order to acquire close to $100 million in seed assets.
“Through this strategy, we were able to demonstrate to our larger institutional investors that we can successfully acquire and generate value with our focused niche, and that it can be scaled,” Malliet says.
To date, BKM has acquired more than $150 million in assets for the fund (this includes four assets currently in escrow) throughout Las Vegas, Phoenix and Portland. The BKM Industrial Value Fund I, L.P. has $300 million of buying power that will be targeted for multi-tenant industrial properties throughout the Western U.S., with a focus on markets such as Washington, Oregon and California.
The vehicle is targeting assets that have significant value creation opportunity over the five year fund term. BKM has a deep pipeline of potential opportunities and is focused on efficiently investing the commitments. After acquiring these properties, BKM plans to renovate, reposition, and re-tenant each property as needed in order to drive the maximum value for every asset.
“This value-add strategy, coupled with our ability to execute, was a major driver of investor interest during the fundraise period,” says Malliet. “In addition, potential investors found value in the strength of our deeply tenured advisory board.”
Through long-standing business relationships, BKM’s founders attracted a deeply accomplished group to join the firm’s board of advisors, including former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack; Jeff Gehl, Managing Director of RCP Advisors; Paul Dolinoy, former Head of Equitable Real Estate National Marketing and Sales Pension Operation; as well as Nima Taghavi, Executive Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of BKM Capital Partners.
According to Taghavi, “I felt very strongly that one of the components of successfully building our platform and executing on our long term vision and strategy would be to attract the caliber of professionals we have been able to attract to join our advisory board. They are active and involved members and have offered and will continue to offer us invaluable advice.”
BKM Capital Partners is well positioned to provide returns for investors over the long term, according to Malliet, who notes that closing a first-time fund is a noteworthy accomplishment in the current market climate.
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of our investors who made our debut fund possible,” Malliet says. “When we started our company, only seven percent of all the real estate capital raised went to first time fund managers. The difference for us has been the strong relationships we have forged in the institutional investment sector, as well as BKM’s ability to provide investors with what they value most – proven results.”
About BKM Capital Partners
BKM Capital Partners was founded in 2013 by Brian Malliet and Nima Taghavi. Headquartered in Irvine, California, bkm Capital Partners is a fund manager specializing in the acquisition and improvement of value-add multi-tenant industrial properties in metro areas across the Western U.S. Combining a deep knowledge of this niche industrial product type with in-house capabilities including on-site property management, asset management, and structured financing, the firm continues to build on its proven track record, generating strong results with high levels of transparency and engagement for investors. Additional information is available at www.bkmcapitalpartners.com.