The latest news on investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

House
A fund launched four months ago in partnership with Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity, known as PeakBridge Growth II S C A SICAV-RAIF, has finished its first closing at around half of its target fund size. 

The fund, which will start to deploy the first sum, around €100 million ($99.77 million) secured from investors, has its first two investments in Netherlands-based Rival Foods and France-based Standing Ovation.

PeakBridge, a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity partnership, is a global impact fund manager which concentrates on agriculture and food technology – an area given added impetus by concerns about global food security since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

“Our food diet is standardised, and neither healthy nor sustainable. Much of our food comes from a small number of over-processed ingredients which are harmful for both biodiversity and our health. Solutions and technologies that explore alternatives to animal-based protein without compromising on taste, texture, nutrition and climate impact are becoming increasingly significant,” Nadav Berger, general partner and co-founder of PeakBridge, said.

“Fighting inflation by passing on price increases to the end customer is not a sustainable solution. Product innovation, meeting new consumer needs, and resource optimization are long-term solutions that Agri-FoodTech Funds such as PeakBridge and innovative companies such as Rival Foods and Standing Ovation help drive,” added Erich Sieber, GP and co-founder of PeakBridge, said.

PeakBridge Growth II S C A  SICAV-RAIF is structured as a Luxembourg SCA SICAVRAIF and is open to professional investors only, making a minimum commitment of €2.5 million. 

Gresham House
Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset manager, has formed a strategic partnership worth around £50 million ($57.5 million) with social impact real estate firm HSPG. Gresham is continuing to build its portfolio of shared ownership and affordable housing. 

Under the arrangement, Gresham House has the exclusive option to acquire HSPG’s pipeline of shared ownership properties when the units are completed. The responsibility for selling the properties will remain with HSPG, Gresham said in a statement.

The deal is Gresham House’s first agreement to include forward exclusivity, with the asset manager expecting to acquire at least £50 million of properties as part of the deal over the next three years. 

The first transaction under the partnership has now been completed, with Gresham House acquiring 21 completed homes at the Laureate Fields development in the coastal town of Felixstowe in east Suffolk for £2.7 million. 

The properties acquired through the agreement will be held in Residential Secure Income, an investment trust managed by Gresham House which invests in shared ownership and independent retirement living properties around the UK. Earlier this year, ReSI plc acquired 182 shared ownership freehold houses in the Southeast and east of England and 39 new build shared ownership homes in South London. This latest acquisition brings ReSI plc’s portfolio to 725.