Colony Closes $6B-Plus Trio Of Real Estate Funds

Luxury real estate investment giant Colony Capital has closed on three funds within the past quarter—Colony Investors VIII with $4 billion, Colony Realty Partners II with $1 billion, and Colyzeo II, its European investment fund, with €1 billion ($1.4 billion). The firm declined comment other than to confirm the numbers through a spokeswoman.

Founded by billionaire CEO and Chairman Thomas Barrack, who claims to sleep only four hours a night to keep pace with his worldwide holdings, Los Angeles-based Colony Capital is among the largest real estate investors in the world. According to the firm’s Web site, it has invested over $29 billion since inception in 1991. Through its 14 global offices, it has managed $12.3 billion in capital prior to the raising of the current funds. According to its Web site, the firm has generated a 24 percent annualized IRR over the past 16 years.

The firm’s five main areas of real estate investment are gaming, hospitality, office, retail and residential properties. A visit to its properties would take a person to every corner of the globe. Gaming Properties include Groupe Lucien Barrière, which is the largest casino operator in Europe, with 37 casinos. Retail properties include Borneo International Furniture, the third largest furniture company in Korea. Colony has also teamed with Blackstone Group to buy the luxury Savoy Hotel Group in London and is developing the Moroccan coast under the Taghazout brand. Other holdings include the Akasaka Park Court luxury apartment building in Tokyo, the Colony Celco joint venture condo development in Mexico City, and the Orchi at Mauna Lani, a 539-unit luxury hotel property along the Kohala Coast, Hawaii.

The firm has 160 employees. Beyond real estate, the firm has invested in the food sector, vineyards, an oil and gas company, a British pub chain, and movie theaters.—M.C.