Ivanhoé Cambridge and Walker & Dunlop have announced plans to upsize their preferred equity U.S. multi-family investment partnership to US$500 million.

The Ivanhoé Cambridge and WDIP joint-venture will continue to make preferred- equity investments in multi-family properties, student housing and manufactured housing throughout the U.S., focusing on operating assets primarily in the top 25 metropolitan areas.

Formed in 2021, the partnership makes preferred stock investments in institutional residential properties throughout the U.S.

“We are excited to expand our relationship with Ivanhoé Cambridge and provide a capital solution in today’s lending environment,” said Mitch Resnick, president of Denver-based WDIP. “Over the past two years, we have developed a reliable preferred-stock structure and efficient underwriting process that allows us to provide certainty of execution.

“Our product is designed to help sponsors achieve their leverage goals on acquisitions and refinancings, while generating liquidity and risk-adjusted returns. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a world-class institution focused on long-term partnerships and we look forward to continuing our successful collaboration together.”

The investment horizons will range from three to 10 years.

“This partnership with WDIP is part of a broader strategy to increase our investments in the preferred-equity space, in line with our sectoral beliefs, to provide a flexible capital solution with an attractive risk-return profile,” said Éric Desjardins, senior director of U.S. residential investment at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “This partnership leverages WDIP’s national network and brings together our collective expertise in financing and investing in the multi-residential sector. We see strong growth opportunities for the partnership going forward and look forward to continuing to play a leadership role in this sector.”

Montreal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge is the real estate arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of Canada’s largest institutional investors. Walker & Dunlop ranks among the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the U.S.

Image: Walker & Dunlop/Ivanhoé Cambridge