Real estate emerging managers 2025: Where are they now?

Start-ups target $4.2 billion in tough real estate fundraising market

Despite 2025’s tricky real estate fundraising environment, several new managers on our latest emerging managers to watch report plunged forward, targeting about $4.2 billion in capital commitments.

Many of the bright spots were for those tackling a growing appetite for real estate credit. Most start-ups, however, struggled to lock down capital amid difficult market conditions, and some are even considering postponing or ditching entirely fund launch plans.

In fact, two start-ups account for more than half of the targeted $4.2 billion in investor commitments so far.

Delayed closes, redemption queues and lowered fundraising targets splattered the headlines for much of the year, affecting also established players such as Oaktree, which missed two fundraising targets by over $5 billion combined.

Behemoth global managers still fired away with multi-billion-dollar fund launches, including an $8 billion target launch from Related Digital, a $6.5 billion target launch from Blue Owl, and a $3.5 billion target launch from Nordic Real Estate Partners.

These large-scale launches extended the gap between large-scale and emerging managers, with H1 2025 being notched as the second lowest half for real estate fundraising in the last decade, according to our prior reporting.

We recorded an average of 5.6 new firm launches a month through the first 10 months of the year, with three months tallying only three new firm launches in February, August, and October.

Real estate managers to watch: Where are they now?

Firm	Founder(s)	Pedigree	Location	Sector	Strategy
AG Paratus	James Gabriel, Scott Avram	Guggenheim Partners, Lightstone	New York	Residential, commercial	Equity, debt
Avra	Justin Meissel	Henley Investment Management	London	Environment-focused	Equity
Bridgestone	Vaughan Essumai	LGIM	London	Living, development	Equity
Caro Investors	Careina Williams	Sundance Bay	Chevy Chase	Commercial	Debt
Derby Lane	Adam Piekarski	BDT & MSD Partners	New York	Commercial	Debt
Evonite	Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarriere, Kevin Muscat	Patrizia	London	Logistics	Equity
JEMM	Candace Chao, Jeff Gdansky, Matthew Meltsner, Eytan Saperstein	JPMorgan AM	New York	Commercial	Debt
Matterhorn	Scott McKibben, Matt Kay	Brennan Investment Group	Chicago	Diversified	Equity
Town Lane	Tyler Henritze	Blackstone	New York	Diversified	Equity
Wandle RE Partners	Angus Dodd, Peter Sockett, Robert Widrig	Lone Star	London	Diversified	Equity, Debt

AG Paratus | James Gabriel, Scott Avram | New York

James Gabriel, former vice president at Guggenheim Partners, and Scott Avram, a former senior vice president at Lightstone, launched AG Paratus in December 2024.

The duo set out to target residential and commercial debt, as well as equity special situations.

Gabriel and Avram have worked on over 40 large-scale residential, hospitality and mixed-use developments across North America and the Caribbean, totaling over $6.6 billion.

There has been little news with AG Paratus’s efforts to get its first fund off the ground. A timeline for its inaugural fund launch is not clear.

Avra | Justin Meissel | London

Justin Meissel, the former CIO of Henley Investment Management, launched Avra Capital Partners in July 2024 to focus on real estate, venture capital and private equity.

Meissel was previously a principal at Blackstone and a board director for tech platform Lavanda, which focused on flexible rentals for students, multifamily and co-living accommodation.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Avra’s progress toward launching its first fund has been slow with little to report since we published our “emerging managers to watch” report in March.

Bridgestone | Vaughan Essumai | London

Bridgestone Capital, a real estate firm started by former Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) veteran Vaughan Essumai, has hit some snags.

The London-based firm had managed £300 million ($387 million) in education, healthcare, assisted living and green development assets last summer. It offered bespoke lending solutions, acquisition and development operations in the U.K. and European real estate markets.

The firm changed its name in September to Brightrock Capital Partners after Bridgestone Corporation, the Japan-based global tire company, lodged a complaint.

The firm was issued a first gazette notice — a warning from the U.K. Companies House that the firm is at risk of dissolving — in October.

Caro Investors | Careina Williams | Chevy Chase

Careina Williams, a former principal at Artemis, launched Chevy Chase-based Caro Investors to focus on commercial real estate credit.

Caro Investors launched its debut fund, Caro Real Estate Credit Fund, targeting $400 million in September.

The fund is targeting middle-market debt, including high-yield senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and distressed debt.

Caro Real Estate Credit Fund would target multifamily, industrial, and retail properties in major, secondary and tertiary U.S. metropolitan markets.

As of last month, the firm raised about $220 million in capital commitments.

Williams spent most of her career investing on behalf of public pensions and is working to keep them the central focus for Caro Investors.

The firm has partnered with TPG and its TPG Next program, which supports emerging managers with capital formation and networking.

Derby Lane | Adam Piekarski | New York

Adam Piekarski, a former co-head of real estate credit at BDT & MSD Partners, launched Derby Lane and his first North America-focused fund, Derby Lane Real Estate Credit Fund I.

Piekarski smashed his $1 billion target raise, instead securing $1.8 billion from a group of strategic anchor partners.

Derby Lane’s partners include BTG Pactual, and funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, Koch Real Estate Investments, Liberty Mutual Investments, Silver Creek Capital Management and Stable.

Piekarski snagged several big names to star at his New York-based firm, including Kory Klebanoff, formerly the co-head of East Coast originations at ACORE Capital, and Urian Yap, formerly the CFO of Madison Realty Capital.

Klebanoff is on the investment team and serving as a partner at Derby Lane, while Yap serves as a partner and CFO.

The investment team is rounded off by managing director Matt Doneth, formerly a principal of real estate at Apollo, and managing director Heecheol Pak, formerly a principal of real estate at Blackstone.

Evonite | Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarriere, Kevin Muscat | London

Former Patrizia executives Paul Hampton, Charles Tarriere and Kevin Muscat founded Evonite in 2024 and has since launched its first fund, Evonite Value Add Fund (EVA) targeting £500 million ($655 million).

The London-based firm began talks with investors in 2025 and is looking to hold a first close for the new fund by the end of H1 2026.

The fund would target Western European and Scandinavian value-add projects, focusing on retail, office and industrial markets in the U.K., Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and Sweden. Key cities include London, Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid.

Investor targets include institutions and family offices.

JEMM Real Estate Partners | Candace Chao, Jeff Gdansky, Matthew Meltsner, Eytan Saperstein | New York

New York-based JEMM Capital Partners launched its first fund, JCP Credit Fund I, in June, targeting $75 million to $100 million in capital commitments.

The fund originates and acquires mortgage loans, mezzanine debt, B-notes and preferred equity, focusing on transitional and construction loans with modest leverage.

The firm is targeting a gross IRR of 13% to 15% for the fund with a focus on assets in the New York metropolitan area and other core US markets, especially along the East Coast.

The firm was founded by a group of veteran real estate pros, including J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s former head of mezzanine debt Candace Chao and Jeff Gdanski, the founder of New York City general contractor New Line Structures.

Gdanski was previously the head of development and construction at Chetrit, a New York-based developer.

Matterhorn Venture Partners | Scott McKibben, Matt Kay | Chicago

Scott McKibben, the former CIO and co-founder of Brennan Investment Group, and Matt Kay, a former vice president at Brennan, founded Matterhorn Venture Partners in 2024 to focus on value-add and development opportunities.

McKibben and Kay planned to focus on retail, office, multifamily and industrial properties across the US.

Since its founding, Matterhorn has now completed over $90 million in total capitalization across seven states, with over 400,000 square feet of properties under its belt.

The firm is actively pursuing industrial opportunities in the Chicago metro area ranging from $2 million to $100 million.

Town Lane | Tyler Henritze | New York

Tyler Henritze, a 19-year veteran of Blackstone, launched Town Lane Management in 2024 targeting $1 billion for its first fund, Town Lane Real Estate Opportunities Fund I.

Henritze, Blackstone’s former head of real estate acquisitions and strategic investments in the Americas, cracked that mark nine months later having gathered $1.2 billion in capital commitments for the opportunistic and value-add fund.

The fund has a flexible mandate, but set out prioritizing warehouses, hotels and multifamily properties in the Sun Belt, especially in areas with high population growth and strong tech industries.

Town Lane has hit the purchasing trail in 2025, snapping up a 15-story, Class-A building in Charlotte, three senior living communities in Florida and a 2.7 million square feet industrial portfolio across Raleigh-Durham.

Wandle Real Estate Partners | Angus Dodd, Peter Sockett, Robert Widrig | London

Angus Dodd, former co-head of European real estate at Lone Star, launched Wandle Real Estate Partners in 2024 with Peter Sockett, a director at Precis Advisory, and Robert Widrig, who founded a real estate consultancy after serving as investment director at Guild Living.

Widrig got his start in real estate as an investment manager at Legal & General Capital.

The trio, which has a history in living sectors, life sciences, offices and hotels, launched Wandle to invest across all commercial and residential sub-sectors. It also underwrites direct and indirect investments, distressed assets and loans.

It’s not clear where the firm sits with its fundraising. Wandle Real Estate Partners did not return requests for comment.