Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson announces that its real estate debt investment platform surpassed $3 billion in originations in just over two years, with a strong pipeline of new origination opportunities heading into 2023.

Kennedy Wilson reached the milestone ahead of business plans, driven by the unique feature of lending on an unlevered basis, enabling the team to stay active while many traditional institutional lenders have reduced their origination capacity. In 2022, Kennedy Wilson originated approximately $1.1 billion in loans, including $140 million in future fundings, and achieved over $425 million in loan repayments. In the fourth quarter alone, Kennedy Wilson has closed over $235 million in new loans.

Kennedy Wilson launched its debt platform in 2020 and subsequently expanded it into Europe in mid-2021, with a target of $6 billion in total loan investments. The platform has approximately $3 billion in remaining lending capacity.

“We are pleased to close out yet another active year for our global debt platform that included building on our core strategy of providing capital for high quality properties within markets exhibiting favorable long-term supply/demand dynamics,” said Matt Windisch, Executive Vice President at Kennedy Wilson. “Recent market activity has allowed us to lend to high quality sponsors at lower leverage points with current returns to us improving into the high teens. We have more than half a dozen borrowers with multiple loans in the platform, which speaks to the strength of our relationships as well as our nimble approach to lending in a dynamic, uncertain real estate environment.”

Kennedy Wilson invests alongside its strategic partners with an average ownership of 6.6% across the debt portfolio and an expected 5% average ownership in future loans. In its role as asset manager, Kennedy Wilson is also earning customary management fees. The loans are primarily secured by multifamily, hospitality, and office properties located throughout Kennedy Wilson’s core U.S. markets.

Kennedy Wilson’s debt platform is the latest venture in the company’s long history of debt investment activity. Together with its partners, Kennedy Wilson has completed over $9 billion in real estate related debt investments since 2010.