LaSalle Canada Property Fund (LCPF) has secured up to C$350 million of new capital commitments to add to its initial seed investment and launch in December 2017. Furthermore, LCPF has acquired two prime assets in Ottawa and Calgary.

LaSalle Investment Management (LaSalle) raised the new capital for the Fund, which is the firm's flagship open-ended core real estate fund in Canada.

The investments were made by a multinational government pension fund, and a European-based global financial institution that accessed the Fund through a parallel structure established in Luxembourg to allow access to certain European investors.

"We are pleased with the strong institutional interest and capital raising momentum experienced by the Fund, as we have leveraged LaSalle's global platform and client relationships to drive growth over a short period of time. Equally as important is the efficiency with which we are able to put that capital to work, highlighted by the dual property acquisition that occurred in conjunction with the new equity commitments," says John McKinlay, LaSalle Canada CEO.

McKinlay also pointed out that since launching the Fund eight months ago, there had been significant global investor interest, which he believes demonstrates the sustained demand for core real estate assets in Canada as a stabilised investment opportunity in North America.

Indeed, the new commitments, combined with the contribution associated with the seed portfolio, reflect a total potential equity raise in excess of $C1 billion since the Fund's launch. LCPF complements other LaSalle core open-end funds in the US and Europe, which collectively manage more than US$8 billion of assets under management (AUM).

Immediately following acceptance of the new capital commitments, the Fund closed on acquisitions of two core assets located in Ottawa and Calgary.

· On August 2, 2018, LCPF acquired a 33% interest in Minto Place, a landmark office property in Ottawa, which comprises three class-A office towers, a retail podium and a four-level parking garage that occupies an entire city block in the central business district of Canada's capital city. The property is 97% leased and has been institutionally managed since construction, providing a total of 945,000 square feet of rentable area, of which 64% is leased to government tenants.

· On July 31, 2018, LCPF acquired Market at Quarry Park on a wholly-owned, all-equity basis. Market at Quarry Park is a well-located and modern grocery-anchored shopping centre in the Quarry Park neighbourhood in Calgary. Developed in 2009 as part of a 400-acre master-planned community, the shopping center is anchored by a Calgary CO-OP with lease term to 2030. The property is 99% leased to a mix of national, regional, and local tenants. When fully built-out, Quarry Park is anticipated to house upwards of 10,000 residents and 18,000 employees. The Market at Quarry Park is the sole major retail hub at the centre of the entire node, and experiences strong traffic given the necessity and service-based tenant profile.

"The acquisitions of Minto Place and Market at Quarry Park make excellent additions to the LCPF portfolio and provide further diversification to the Fund's existing national portfolio of major market investments. LaSalle is very positive about the near-term growth prospects in the City of Ottawa, as the market continues to be driven by technology tenants and government stability," says Stephen Robertson, Head of Acquisitions in Canada for LaSalle.