RBR Capital expands in the US in bid to triple its size
After consolidating itself as one of the largest firms specialized in real-estate funds, RBR Capital decided to expand abroad. The destination was the United States, more specifically New York City, where since 2018 it has been buying, renovating and renting proprieties with money raised among Brazilian clients.
The Brazilian asset manager also plans to launch in 2021 a real-estate debt fund in the American market and, in the near future, a portfolio of development projects. RBR also studies the possibility of entering the European market in a similar way.
"We have $50 million invested in New York," says RBR's CEO Ricardo Almendra. The money was used to buy 23 buildings, with a total of 183 apartments, of which 70 were already renovated and 90% rented. According to the executive, the average annual return of the investment is 10%, not considering the strengthening of the dollar against the real.
"The focus is to meet the demand for residential rentals" in foreign currency, Mr. Almendra says. The US "is a completely different market, because two-thirds of New York residents pay rent." Abroad, Mr. Almendra adds, "there is less demand fluctuation, there is always people wanting to live in a good apartment in New York."
The buildings bought by RBR are usually older, sometimes with 40 to 50 years, and need renovations. The firm buys the properties, does the renovations and even install closets and appliances.
Created in 2014, RBR Capital navigated a series of turbulences in Brazil, from the biggest recession in the history of the country to the political crisis that culminated in the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, in August 2016, to truckers' strikes in 2018 and the pandemic this year.
Still, in five years the firm grew four times in terms of assets under management. And it should close 2020 six times bigger, with around R$6 billion. "We intend to reach at least R$20 billion in five years," Mr. Almendra says.
In addition to creating and managing real-estate funds, RBR has strong presence in the development segment, in which it finances and becomes partner in developing projects. "Since 2014, between residential units [already built] and developments, our portfolio has 9,000 units with an overall sales value of R$2.5 billion," he says.
RBR's founder partner Guilherme Bueno Netto says the company has partnerships with 11 developers, including Kallas...
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