Round Hill Capital and CIM Group join forces to launch new Investment Business

29 July 2024

  • Round Hill Capital and CIM Group have formed a new entity which will, from the outset, manage c.$2.1 billion investments and relationships transferred from Round Hill Capital.
  • The formation of the new business, Round Hill Capital Ventures LLC, will marry Round Hill Capital’s 22-year history as a leading investment manager, with CIM Group’s long history of value creation, placemaking and innovation.
  • The new business will be backed by a strong balance sheet to continue to support existing investors and for co-investment in new strategies and partnerships. The enhanced balance sheet of the new entity will also allow the business to target new investor markets and launch of new products.
  • Michael Bickford to serve as CEO of the new $2.1B platform and investors will also continue to be served by the existing management and operational teams of Round Hill Capital with the addition of CIM Group’s scale and breadth of investment and operational experience across multiple asset classes.

Round Hill Capital, a leading global specialist residential real estate investor, developer and manager, announces that it has partnered with CIM Group, a leading community-focused real estate and infrastructure owner, operator, lender and developer, to create Round Hill Capital Ventures, a newly formed investment business that will manage the majority of assets formerly managed by Round Hill Capital. Michael Bickford will serve as CEO of the newly formed business, with the portfolio continuing to be managed by highly experienced teams across Round Hill Capital’s offices in Europe, the UK and the US. In addition to being co-owners of the business, CIM Group is providing growth capital to Round Hill Capital Ventures for its continued expansion.

Round Hill Capital Ventures will manage a $2.1 billion portfolio of high-quality investment and development real estate located predominantly in Europe and concentrated in the living sector, representing 13,450 residential units across ten countries including the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, France and the US.

The new business will build upon the longstanding strength of Round Hill Capital’s vertically integrated real estate management business, which will now benefit from the support of CIM Group’s scale and breadth of experience across multiple real estate and infrastructure asset classes as well as from its access to growth capital and its complementary operational expertise.

CIM Group currently owns and operates $28.6 billion in assets across 135 communities across North America, Latin America and the UK.

CIM Group’s investment will position the new business for accelerated growth, strengthen its ability to raise and deploy capital, as well as enhance its relationships with global capital partners, all of which will build upon Mr. Bickford and his team’s strong investment track record across Europe. The new entity will also benefit from CIM Group’s expertise to help increase operational efficiency.

Since the formation of Round Hill Capital in 2002, firms/funds managed by Mr. Bickford and the Round Hill Capital management team, the core of which will join the new business, have transacted over $13 billion of real estate and invested in more than 140,000 residential units and student housing beds. In 2018, Blue Owl’s GP Strategic Capital (formerly operating as Dyal Capital Partners) made a passive, minority investment in Round Hill Capital. Blue Owl GP Strategic Capital will continue as a minority stakeholder in the new entity. Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager with over $174 billion in assets under management.

Michael Bickford said, “CIM Group is a strong investment partner with a 30-year track record of successfully managing real assets, including residential and infrastructure, along with a substantial credit business. We are excited about this new chapter to grow our business. We have significant ambitions to continue expanding across Europe, and CIM Group’s expertise and resources will be invaluable in helping us achieve those goals.

Drawing on our deep operational real estate expertise, against a backdrop of increased certainty around borrowing costs and stabilizing values, we believe this strategic partnership with CIM Group positions us advantageously at a compelling point in the market cycle across Europe. This should allow us to continue delivering superior performance for all of our investment partners.”

“CIM Group’s investment into Round Hill Capital Ventures is part of our firm’s longstanding practice of expanding our platform by partnering with best-in-class managers in their home markets and providing financial and operational support. We believe Round Hill Capital Ventures is a top-tier living sector fund manager across Europe and the UK, and we look forward to being a part of its growth going forward as an investor and supportive partner,” said Richard Ressler, Co-Founder and Principal of CIM Group.

Michael Rees, Co-president of Blue Owl, added:

"This marks a significant milestone in the history of Round Hill Capital. We are delighted to be investing alongside CIM Group as stakeholders in this new investment platform. The formation of this new business represents an opportunity for significant future growth whereby the two complementary businesses can leverage their respective expertise to launch and manage compelling new products”

Since the formation of Round Hill Capital in 2002, firms/funds managed by Michael Bickford and the Round Hill Capital management team have transacted over $13 billion of real estate and invested in more than 140,000 residential units and student housing beds.