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Average fund size increases as 74 per cent of private equity funds closed in Q1 met or exceeded target

Private equity fundraising through the first quarter is examined in this extract from the Preqin Quarterly Update: Private Equity, Q1 2015.

Q1 2015 has seen a marked drop in the number of private equity funds closed, down from 324 in Q4 2014 to just 166 in the first quarter of the new year (Fig. 1). When compared with Q1 2014, the same downward trend is apparent, with 263 vehicles closed in the first quarter of 2014. However, despite a decline in number of funds, the level of aggregate capital raised has not fallen proportionally. Private equity vehicles closed in the first quarter of the year collected USD104 billion, just USD7 billion less than the first quarter of 2014, indicating an increase in the average final size. A notable 50 per cent of vehicles closed in Q1 2015 exceeded their targets, with a further 24 per cent meeting their targets.

Real estate funds collected the highest amount of capital of all fund types in Q1 2015, at an aggregate USD29.7 billion (Fig. 2). Two of the five largest vehicles closed in the first quarter were real estate funds, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII (USD14.5 billion) and Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X (USD5.6 billion), both of which surpassed their original target sizes by over USD1 billion.

Fig. 3 shows that as in every year, the majority of capital raised in Q1 2015 was by vehicles that are primarily focused on North America (68 per cent). Private equity funds with a predominant focus on Europe accounted for 14 per cent of capital raised and Asia-focused funds represent 10 per cent.

Preqin releases quarterly reports covering private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. All five quarterly updates can be accessed for free in our Research Center.

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