Bain Capital Real Estate and 11North Partners have closed a capital raise of up to $1.6 billion to invest alongside their co-owned open-air retail platform, expanding their capacity to pursue acquisitions of open-air retail centers across the United States and Canada.
The firms said two global institutional investors anchored the raise and also included commitments from both existing and new investors. They added that, with additional participation from Bain Capital Real Estate Fund III, the platform now has access to more than $2 billion of investable equity.
Bain Capital and 11North formed the platform in April 2024 with a strategy centered on acquiring grocery-anchored open-air retail centers with necessity-based tenants. The partners said they are targeting assets where they see durable consumer demand and opportunities to invest across both core-plus and value-add profiles, depending on the asset and market dynamics.
The firms highlighted recent transactions, including the acquisition of a 10-asset portfolio of Publix-anchored centers in infill markets across Florida and the Charleston, South Carolina area, as well as the purchase of three open-air lifestyle retail centers in Oklahoma City. They said the platform’s structure is intended to provide flexibility to pursue single-asset purchases, large portfolios, and company-level opportunities as the portfolio scales.
Bain Capital and 11North said they expect open-air retail to continue benefiting from longer-term trends tied to omnichannel shopping, continued strength in essential retail categories, and consumer patterns that favor convenient, neighborhood-based retail.
KEY QUOTES:
“This Platform is a testament to Bain Capital’s more than 40-year heritage of thematic investing in the consumer sector, which has enabled us to build deep institutional knowledge and differentiated insight into how real estate can capitalize on and adapt to shifts in consumer behavior. It also reflects how we invest across Bain Capital Real Estate – thematically, with advantage, and with discipline in partnership with aligned operators who bring deep domain expertise.”
Ryan Cotton, Partner and Head of Bain Capital Real Estate
“We see open-air retail continuing to benefit from durable secular trends, including the growth of omnichannel shopping, healthy sales performance in essential categories, and evolving consumer patterns that keep daily needs closer to where people live. These dynamics create a supportive environment for necessity-based centers in strong, accessible locations, and with the right partnership in place, we believe we are well positioned to continue assembling a best-in-class portfolio that delivers lasting value for our investors,”
Martha Kelley, Managing Director at Bain Capital Real Estate
“From the beginning of 11North Partners, our shared vision with Bain Capital was to build a platform that could thoughtfully invest across both core plus and value add opportunities. This first capital raise delivers on that vision and positions us to scale with discipline. We are grateful to be partnering with two of the largest and most respected investors in the world, and we will remain focused on acquiring generational grocery-anchored real estate across the United States. The structure of our Platform gives us the flexibility to pursue single assets, large portfolios, or company-level opportunities as we continue to build upon our existing, high-quality collection of assets.”
Brian Harper, Founder and Managing Partner of 11North
