Forum Partners

What Forum Partners does

Forum Partners is a global real estate investment and asset management firm founded in June 2002 by Russell C. Platt, headquartered in London with regional offices in Santa Fe, Sydney, Arlington, and West Palm Beach. Since inception the firm has deployed approximately $7.7 billion of capital across 24 countries in over 100 investments, and through a balance sheet of minority and controlling stakes in 7+ operating platforms it directly or indirectly owns or manages more than $14 billion of commercial real estate worldwide. Following a 2019 management buyout, Forum is wholly-owned by CEO Russell Platt and affiliated entities and operates as an SEC exempt reporting adviser.

The firm's product surface spans regional funds (Europe Funds I–III, Asia Funds I–III), thematic vehicles (GCIO I–II focused on data centers and logistics), and programmatic partnerships with marquee institutional LPs including BlackRock, Blackstone, GIC, APG, TIAA, PGGM, Franklin Templeton, and Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Investment is executed at two layers: entity-level (minority/controlling equity in operating companies such as The Dermot Company, Workspace Property Trust, Urban Retail Properties, Prime Data Centers, Newlands Developments, Pocket Storage, TSCG, Newbridge, and Denison Funds Management) and asset-level (direct equity, preferred equity, and debt in real estate assets). Revenue derives from recurring asset management fees on AUM and performance/carried interest on exits.

Forum's go-to-market is relationship-driven enterprise sales to institutional investors — pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and endowments — with direct engagement by senior partners rather than a distributed sales force. Distribution is augmented by strategic partnerships (notably with La Française), industry conference presence, and thought-leadership content. The firm employs 11–50 people, an unusually lean operating model relative to its AUM and geographic footprint.

Name

Forum Partners

Legal name

Forum Partners Investment Management LLC

Website

https://forumpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forum Partners is a global real estate investment and asset management firm deploying capital across 24 countries in multifamily, office, retail, logistics, data centers, self-storage, and energy transition assets for institutional investors including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Open-End Investment Funds (52591), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Real Estate Investment Trusts (6798)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAHAIAM

Real Assets — Real Asset Fund Platforms / Multi-Asset Real Assets (Diversified Real Assets Funds)

Financial & Insurance/Hedge Funds & Alternative Investments/Alternative Investments — Real Assets (Real Estate, Infrastructure, Farmland, Timberland)

SECONDARYFSAAALAG

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Asset Management — ESG/Sustainable & Impact Investing

Keywords

• Real estate investment
• Asset management
• Institutional investing
• Real estate funds
• Capital management

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Asset Management Fees: Forum Partners generates revenue through asset management fees charged on assets under management across its regional funds, separate accounts, and platform-specific partnerships.
2. Performance/ carried interest fees: The firm earns carried interest on successful investments and exits, providing upside participation when capital partners benefit from investment returns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Forum Partners is a global real estate investment and asset management firm that deploys institutional capital into real estate operating companies and assets across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The firm structures investments through regional funds (Europe Funds, Asia Funds, GCIO Funds), separate accounts, and platform-specific partnerships, and holds minority and controlling positions in portfolio companies spanning multifamily, office, retail, industrial, logistics, data centers, self-storage, and energy transition assets.

Product overview

Forum Partners is a global real estate investment and asset management firm offering institutional investors access to real estate investment opportunities through multiple product lines. The core offering includes entity-level and asset-level investment services, deploying capital via regional funds (Europe Funds I-III, Asia Funds I-III), thematic funds (GCIO I-II focusing on data centers and logistics), and programmatic partnerships. The firm also operates portfolio companies including Newlands Developments (UK logistics developer), The Dermot Company (US multifamily), Workspace Property Trust (US office/flex), Urban Retail Properties (US retail), Prime Data Centers (data centers), Newbridge (energy transition), and TSCG (retail advisory). Recent product launches include specialized funds like Newlands Development Opportunities I, TSCG Credit Opportunities I, and the Pocket Storage self-storage platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Europe Funds Regional fund series investing in European real estate markets through entity-level and asset-level opportunities, with vintages Europe Fund I (May 2003), Europe Fund II (June 2005), and Europe Fund III (January 2007).
• Asia Funds Regional fund series investing in Asian real estate markets across Japan, China, Singapore, Australia, and other Asia-Pacific geographies, with vintages Asia Fund I (November 2004), Asia Fund II (August 2006), and Asia Fund III (September 2010).
• GCIO Funds (Global Climate Impact Opportunities) Thematic fund series targeting data center and industrial real estate investments globally, with GCIO I launched in January 2020 and GCIO II launched in March 2022.
• Entity Level Investment Services Provides growth and restructuring capital to real estate operating companies, extracting resilient income streams and capital protection from underlying real estate portfolios while deriving upside from enterprise value interests.
• Asset Level Investment Services Direct asset investments combining macro theme-based approach with bottom-up underwriting, generating returns from income and capital appreciation through equity, preferred equity, and debt structures.
• Newlands Development Opportunities I Fund Fund providing working capital for UK logistics and industrial development sites, with $12 million in total commitments closed in January 2025 to fund the Newlands Park Nottingham Gateway site within the UK's Golden Triangle logistics corridor.
• TSCG Credit Opportunities I Fund Private credit fund issuing small-balance loans to retail clients for property improvements, leasing, and development, offering a 9% preferred return and targeting up to $25 million (with option to increase to $50 million) from accredited investors.
• Pocket Storage Self-Storage Platform Vertically integrated self-storage platform focused on adaptive reuse in ultra-urban UK markets, combining proprietary booking and site access software with repurposed urban spaces to deliver fully automated self-storage facilities.
• Workspace Property Trust Forum portfolio company - fully-integrated real estate company focused on acquiring, owning, and operating high-quality office and flex real estate in prime suburban submarkets across major US markets, with over 200 properties across 22 major US markets and over 19 million square feet.
• The Dermot Company Forum portfolio company - New York City-based multifamily real estate firm focused exclusively on developing, acquiring, and managing multifamily rental properties along the US eastern seaboard, managing 5,000+ apartments across NYC, Florida, and the Carolinas.
• Urban Retail Properties Forum portfolio company - commercial real estate investment and operating company specializing in retail properties including regional malls, power centers, community centers, and big box portfolios, managing 23 retail properties across 9 states comprising over 16 million square feet.
• Prime Data Centers Forum portfolio company - US-based real estate management and development company focused on data center assets, with over 2 gigawatts of data center capacity, addressing design, development, leasing, operations, financing, and acquisitions.
• Newlands Developments Forum portfolio company - UK-based specialist industrial and logistics developer focused on prime industrial and logistics properties including big-box and mid-box units, with 35+ million square feet delivered.
• TSCG Forum portfolio company - vertically integrated retail-only platform providing advisory services to tenants, landlords, developers, investors, and financial institutions throughout the US with six distinct business segments, 240+ team members across 20 offices in 11 states managing 60 million square feet.
• Newbridge Forum wholly-owned portfolio company - UK-based platform investing in the energy transition sector globally, focusing on grid-scale battery storage and green hydrogen assets.
• Oxenwood Forum portfolio company - specialist logistics and industrial platform operating in UK and Western Europe.
• Uptown Residential Partners Forum portfolio company - Australian proprietary company established by Forum Partners to invest in the Australian residential property sector, having acquired over 350 strata apartments in key Australian CBD markets since inception.

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and support.

• La FrançaisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa Française is an asset manager and strategic partner of Forum Partners. A strategic partnership was established in September 2013. In July 2016, Forum sold a minority stake in LFF Real Estate Partners to La Française.
• KPMGsupportOthersKPMG provides tax and accounting advisory services to Forum Partners and its portfolio companies.
• Baker McKenziesupportOthersBaker McKenzie provides legal advisory services to Forum Partners and its portfolio companies.
• Allen & OverysupportOthersAllen & Overy provides legal advisory services to Forum Partners and its portfolio companies.
• Oxford EconomicssupportOthersOxford Economics provides global economic research and analysis services to Forum Partners for investment decision-making.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• StepStone Group: Global private markets investment firm that operates a fund-of-funds / multi-manager platform allocating to real estate and other alternatives. Adjacent to Forum given Franklin Templeton's fund-of-funds allocation into Forum vehicles, signaling overlap in the institutional capital intermediary space.

Direct peers

• Round Hill Capital: European real estate investment specialist focused on residential, student housing, and living sectors across UK and continental Europe. Comparable to Forum's UK-focused portfolio companies and specialized sector approach.
• Benson Elliot: UK-based mid-market real estate private equity firm investing across UK and European real estate through value-add funds for institutional investors. Direct peer to Forum given similar mid-market Pan-European focus and partnership-driven investment approach.
• Patrizia AG: European-headquartered investment manager specializing in real estate across Europe, North America, and APAC. Direct peer given comparable regional fund structure, institutional LP base, and sector-spanning real estate mandate similar to Forum's portfolio.
• EQT Real Estate: European-headquartered alternative investor with active global real estate platform operating across value-add and core strategies in NA, Europe, and APAC. Direct peer to Forum given similar mid-market focus on real estate operating companies and asset-level deals.

Broad incumbents

• Starwood Capital Group: Large private alternative investment firm focused on global real estate and energy infrastructure with deep LP relationships. Comparable to Forum's structure as a privately held alternative manager with concentrated real estate focus across multiple strategies.
• Brookfield Asset Management: Global alternative asset manager with large real estate arm spanning office, retail, multifamily, logistics, and data centers. Direct peer in institutional real estate investing and capital partnership model, with comparable multi-region fund structures.
• Carlyle Real Estate: Global PE firm with dedicated real estate platform investing across North America, Europe, and Asia across logistics, residential, and office. Comparable to Forum in deploying capital through regional and sector funds to institutional capital partners.
• Ares Real Estate: Alternative manager with sizeable real estate platform focused on equity, debt, and special situations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Comparable to Forum as a globally diversified institutional real estate investor with similar LP base and deal sourcing approach.
• Blackstone Real Estate: World's largest real estate PE platform with $300B+ RE AUM across global opportunity, core+, debt, and logistics strategies. Comparable to Forum as a direct investor in real estate operating companies and asset-level deals, but at vastly larger scale and broader strategy coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forum Partners