D
rake Real Estate Partners, a real estate investment manager specializing in value-add strategies for under-the-radar opportunities, has closed its fifth flagship fund, Drake Real Estate Partners Fund V, with over $515 million in commitments. This exceeds the initial target of $500 million, achieved despite one of the most challenging fundraising environments in recent history.

    The firm's investor base has diversified from its original roots in large Latin American family offices to a predominantly US institutional capital base for DREP Fund V. "We surpassed our target raise with $515 million plus co-investment allocations," said Nicolas Ibanez, co-founder and President of Drake. "This outcome is a testament to the long-term relationships we've built and our expansion into the US and European institutional landscape."

    The year-and-a-half fundraising period required persistence and focus, according to Ibanez. "We amplified our message among existing and prospective investors seeking differentiated access to US real estate," he said. "Drake focuses on niche sectors and smaller opportunities often overlooked in a market undergoing a structural reset."

    Founded in 2012, Drake implements a value-add approach by acquiring income-producing assets at a significant discount to replacement cost and driving value through repositioning, leasing, and improving operations. The firm focuses on smaller transactions, generally between $5-25 million of equity, benefiting from less efficient market dynamics.

    "This fund vintage presents one of the most compelling risk/return profiles we've seen since the Firm's inception," said David Cotterman, Drake co-founder and Chief Investment Officer. "We're creating value-add to opportunistic type returns while taking core plus to light value-add risk in longstanding themes."

    Drake has increasingly pursued fragmented sub-sectors within industrial and residential themes, such as industrial outdoor storage, small bay industrial, and manufactured housing. The firm sources most acquisitions directly from owners, bypassing intermediaries and broadly marketed processes.

    To date, industrial outdoor storage represents one of Drake's highest conviction playbooks in DREP Fund V, driven by sustained demand and limited new supply. Within the residential space, manufactured housing is a primary playbook, targeting a niche market defined by a persistent supply/demand imbalance.

    Drake Real Estate Partners is a New York-based real estate investment manager with a track record of identifying and executing on under-the-radar opportunities across the US. The firm focuses on value-add strategies in income-producing assets, generally acquired at a significant discount to replacement cost.