Key Takeaways
- • Former Brookfield Asset Management CFO Andrew McVeigh is raising $50 million in initial equity capital for a residential real estate development fund through his firm Remara, with a targeted total fund size of approximately $500 million.
- • The fund targets 20% returns by capitalizing on Australia's chronic housing shortage, leveraging structural market challenges including higher interest rates, planning delays, and rising construction costs that have constrained supply.
- • Remara has successfully scaled a private credit business managing over $1.6 billion in Australian credit assets, primarily loans to small and medium-sized businesses, before expanding into equity-based real estate development.
- • The equity fund will be accessible to retail investors, self-managed super funds, and family offices seeking alternatives to volatile equity markets, addressing demand for alternative asset class exposure.
- • McVeigh has secured five seed investors and 25 committed investors ahead of the initial $50 million capital raise, indicating strong early institutional interest in the strategy.
Summary
Andrew McVeigh, former chief financial officer at Brookfield Asset Management, is pivoting from private credit into private equity with the launch of a $50 million equity raise for a residential real estate development fund. McVeigh founded Remara in 2017 following a nine-year tenure at Brookfield, where he served as Asia Pacific CFO for two years. The new fund represents a strategic expansion of Remara's existing business, which has built substantial scale on the debt side with over $1.6 billion in Australian credit assets under management, primarily consisting of loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
The equity-based real estate fund targets a natural upper limit of approximately $500 million in total capital. McVeigh told The Australian Financial Review that the fund aims to generate 20% returns by investing in a portfolio of mostly residential projects. The investment thesis is grounded in Australia's structural housing shortage and the favorable conditions created by macroeconomic headwinds—higher interest rates, planning delays, and rising construction costs—that have constrained development activity and created what McVeigh characterizes as "the perfect timing for capital investment into the sector."
The fund's investor profile reflects broad appeal across institutional and retail segments. McVeigh reports that five seed investors and an additional 25 committed investors have already committed capital ahead of the formal raise, signaling strong early traction. The fund will be open to retail investors, self-managed super funds, and family offices. In-house research at Remara indicates that investors are actively seeking alternatives to volatile public equity markets, positioning the fund to capture demand for differentiated asset class exposure in the current investment environment.
The expansion into equity-style real estate development builds on Remara's established platform in the Australian alternative credit market. This move diversifies the firm's revenue streams while leveraging existing operational infrastructure and market relationships to address underserved demand for equity capital in the residential development sector.
The equity-based real estate fund targets a natural upper limit of approximately $500 million in total capital. McVeigh told The Australian Financial Review that the fund aims to generate 20% returns by investing in a portfolio of mostly residential projects. The investment thesis is grounded in Australia's structural housing shortage and the favorable conditions created by macroeconomic headwinds—higher interest rates, planning delays, and rising construction costs—that have constrained development activity and created what McVeigh characterizes as "the perfect timing for capital investment into the sector."
The fund's investor profile reflects broad appeal across institutional and retail segments. McVeigh reports that five seed investors and an additional 25 committed investors have already committed capital ahead of the formal raise, signaling strong early traction. The fund will be open to retail investors, self-managed super funds, and family offices. In-house research at Remara indicates that investors are actively seeking alternatives to volatile public equity markets, positioning the fund to capture demand for differentiated asset class exposure in the current investment environment.
The expansion into equity-style real estate development builds on Remara's established platform in the Australian alternative credit market. This move diversifies the firm's revenue streams while leveraging existing operational infrastructure and market relationships to address underserved demand for equity capital in the residential development sector.
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