Mapeley

Richard Georgi, head of billionaire investor George Soros's real estate empire, is planning to launch a $1bn (�625m) fund in the autumn.
In a departure from the typical Soros hedge fund, it will be a private equity fund like those of Apollo Real Estate Advisors and Goldman Sachs's Whitehall. Soros is expected to co-invest a significant amount of money in the new fund along with outside investors. It will be the primary vehicle for Soros's real estate investments, as Quantum Realty and the larger Quantum Industrial Holdings are no longer taking subscriptions.
Georgi plans to invest the proceeds in 'people who are building businesses in a new, pan-European market'. Some businesses he is believed to be looking at are car parks, cinemas and nursing homes.
The 36-year-old joined Soros Real Estate Partners at its St James's headquarters in April, having been poached from Goldman Sachs, where he was head of European property. The company was initially capitalised at $600m (�375m) with a remit to invest in real estate companies, rather than bricks and mortar, focusing on western Europe and Asia, especially Japan.
In his first five months Georgi has been on the road scouting and reviewing investments in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires.
He has quickly invested a lot of the intial money allocated to him. About �60m has gone to back pub group Punch Taverns' takeover fight for Allied Domecq's pub estate. He threw $75m (�47m) into New York's NorthStar Capital Investment Corp, helping NorthStar to attract more, much-needed funds to renovate its Ian Schrager-run hotels. In June, he invested in Mapeley, the consortium bidding for the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise property portfolios. He also put money into a Spanish leisure company, MedGroup.
Georgi has a lot to prove in his new job. The $430m (�270m) Quantum Realty Fund, which is not taking in any more money, has shown just about the poorest performance of any Soros fund since it was launched in 1992. It gained a relatively meagre 12% average return. By contrast, Soros's top-performing Quota global macro fund has shown an average 42% return.

By James Whitmore.



27/08/99 UK: GEORGI SEEKS QUANTUM LEAP IN NEW SOROS FUND. Richard Georgi, head of billionaire investor George Soros's real estate empire, is planning to launch a $1bn (�625m) fund in the autumn. In a departure from the typical Soros hedge fund, it will be a private equity fund like those of Apollo Real Estate Advisors and Goldman Sachs's Whitehall. Soros is expected to co-invest a significant amount of money in the new fund along with outside investors. It will be the primary vehicle for Soros's real estate investments, as Quantum Realty and the larger Quantum Industrial Holdings are no longer taking subscriptions. Georgi plans to invest the proceeds in 'people who are building businesses in a new, pan-European market'. Some businesses he is believed to be looking at are car parks, cinemas and nursing homes. The 36-year-old joined Soros Real Estate Partners at its St James's headquarters in April, having been poached from Goldman Sachs, where he was head of European property. The company was initially capitalised at $600m (�375m) with a remit to invest in real estate companies, rather than bricks and mortar, focusing on western Europe and Asia, especially Japan. In his first five months Georgi has been on the road scouting and reviewing investments in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires. He has quickly invested a lot of the intial money allocated to him. About �60m has gone to back pub group Punch Taverns' takeover fight for Allied Domecq's pub estate. He threw $75m (�47m) into New York's NorthStar Capital Investment Corp, helping NorthStar to attract more, much-needed funds to renovate its Ian Schrager-run hotels. In June, he invested in Mapeley, the consortium bidding for the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise property portfolios. He also put money into a Spanish leisure company, MedGroup. Georgi has a lot to prove in his new job. The $430m (�270m) Quantum Realty Fund, which is not taking in any more money, has shown just about the poorest performance of any Soros fund since it was launched in 1992. It gained a relatively meagre 12% average return. By contrast, Soros's top-performing Quota global macro fund has shown an average 42% return. By James Whitmore.