Alpaca Launches Private Equity Real Estate Platform

In a strategic move to tap into the shifting landscape of real estate investments, Alpaca, a renowned alternative investments management firm, has unveiled its latest venture: Alpaca Real Estate (ARE). Spearheaded by co-founders Daniel Carr and Peter Weiss, ARE aims to leverage its deep industry relationships, underwriting expertise, and innovative technology to seize opportunities in the ever-evolving real estate market.

The inaugural offering of ARE has already gained substantial support, with backing from GCM Grosvenor, a global leader in alternative investments, acting on behalf of several investors. ARE is set to focus on real estate investments that require recapitalization, repositioning, strategic capital infusion, or physical transformation. Moreover, the platform plans to harness technology and operational enhancements to enhance efficiency and generate increased returns from its real estate holdings.

Daniel Carr, co-founder of ARE, emphasized the platform’s commitment to capitalizing on the current real estate market dynamics. Carr stated, “Today’s reset real estate market creates a prime opportunity for a cycle-tested team to establish a platform with dry powder and without any legacy asset management issues.” ARE aims to invest in sectors negatively impacted by capital markets but showing strong underlying growth potential.

Peter Weiss, another co-founder, noted, “Establishing Alpaca Real Estate allows us to combine strong baseline real estate returns with the potential upside associated with operational and technology-driven overlays.” This strategy promises a compelling value proposition for institutional investors.

Carr and Weiss bring extensive experience to ARE, with over a dozen years of investing in real estate transactions. Their backgrounds include roles at prominent firms such as Ares Management, Prospect Ridge, and J.P. Morgan.

Ryan Freedman, General Partner of Alpaca, highlighted the importance of technology in the real estate sector, stating, “Alpaca Real Estate was created to drive technology utilization from the bottom up by bridging the gap between real estate users and PropTech firms.”

GCM Grosvenor’s Managing Director, Peter Braffman, expressed confidence in Alpaca’s positioning, saying, “We believe that Alpaca is advantageously positioned to capitalize on the growing trend of investing at the intersection of real estate and technology.”

Alpaca, with its history of investing in over 100 PropTech, sustainability, and climate-related companies, aims to create a traditional real estate platform augmented by technology solutions and strategic partnerships.

The launch of Alpaca Real Estate represents a significant step for Alpaca, marking its expansion into the real estate sector and its commitment to harnessing technology to drive value in the world of real estate investments. This move is expected to reshape the landscape of private equity real estate investment strategies, offering new opportunities for investors and the market as a whole.