Our “PPR Next” strategy is evolving the firm into a more diversified investment management organization and here’s how.
When I joined PPR Capital Management as CEO, I began developing what has come to be known as the “PPR Next” strategy. This was a plan to build on the solid foundation put in place by the company’s founders and help transform the business into a more diversified investment management organization. I wanted to take the time to outline the key pillars of this strategy below to give readers a summary of the plan’s impact at PPR thus far, as well as a sneak peek at what’s to come in 2024.
Capital Raise
In order to build a more diverse private equity real estate organization and become more valuable to our investors, PPR has aimed to attract new prospective investors, expand our existing investor pool, and increase the investments from current investors. 2023 proved to be a record-breaking year on many fronts. At nearly $100 million raised in 2023, we set a new record for a single year in capital raise. Our Non-Performing Loan (NPL) investments also achieved a new annual record, with $234 million in deployments. We ended the year with $855 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) and $348 million in Equity Under Management (EUM).
Effective Deployment
We also wanted to drive more effective deployment, which we accomplished in all of our verticals. We particularly refined our multi-family commercial real estate investment strategies throughout 2023, providing a significant opportunity to stabilize and grow PPR’s portfolio. Within our REO division, we moved disposition processes in-house for all new REO assets as of January 1, 2024. New REO assets will now be serviced directly by our team without needing a third-party servicer, allowing us more control and transparency. In the past year, we developed effective processes to manage these investments, connected with new sponsors, and expanded the portfolio to represent 20% of our AUM.
Client Engagement
We also emphasized engaging clients proactively and increasingly meeting face-to-face. One of our strategies for enhancing our engagement included hosting events at our new office site, located just outside of Philadelphia in Wayne, PA. To meet investors where they are located, members of our team also traveled to meet with folks in other states, including Florida and Texas.
Value Creation
PPR implemented these efforts to create more value for our firm, our employees, and most importantly, our investors and stakeholders. We built a strong trajectory throughout 2023 with the growth of our asset base, investments, deployments, and capital raise. We also saw organizational growth in how we evaluate opportunities, the processes and procedures we have in place, how we leverage our partnerships, the size of our team, and the quality of our culture. Because giving back to our community is core to the values of PPR, we are also proud of our
continued philanthropic work. PPR provides paid time off for our employees to volunteer with nonprofits in the region. Throughout 2023, our team supported The Salvation Army, Cradles to Crayons, Angels in Motion, and the Chester County Food Bank.
Looking Forward
PPR Next is not a one-and-done strategy. While this past year was about building and strengthening the foundation, 2024’s theme is “Evolve and Diversify.” We will continue to evolve into the next stage of growth by diversifying how we approach investors, the type of investors we work with, and our deployment strategies. We are also laying the groundwork for the evolution of our investment thesis. While capital investments and NPLs will continue to be a cornerstone of our real estate strategy, we are expanding other portfolios to develop more growth opportunities and offer investments to our clients with a higher expected rate of return. Expect to hear more about this in the weeks and months to come!
