PGIM Real Estate strengthens global innovation strategy with European investment in Fifth Wall PGIMRealEstatestrengthensglobalinnovationstrategywithEuropeaninvestmentinFifthWall

PGIM Real Estate has strengthened its global innovation strategy with an investment into the Fifth Wall European Real Estate Technology Fund. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.5 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).  

PGIM Real Estate continues to expand and grow its global innovation strategy through key partnerships, as it taps into the technology disruption wave currently transforming the real estate industry.  

PGIM Real Estate’s investment in the Fifth Wall European Real Estate Technology Fund is the latest development in the group’s global innovation strategy—following its strategic equity stake in Taronga Ventures and investment in Taronga’s RealTech Ventures Fund in the Asia-Pacific region, and in the US, MetaProp NYC’s MetaProp Ventures II and III. 

Fifth Wall European Real Estate Technology Fund is the first European-focused strategy from Fifth Wall, the largest venture capital (VC) firm specialising in property technology—or PropTech. With US$1.7 billion under management, the Los Angeles-based Fifth Wall has one of the most sophisticated research platforms among VC firms for PropTech, which it is leveraging with its European offering. 

“Technology is rapidly disrupting real estate after years of relative inertia and will be transformational for our industry. Venture capital partners are invaluable assets in our ongoing innovation efforts, providing assistance in the identification of likely winners among the hundreds of start-ups,” said Sara Shank, managing director and global head of innovation at PGIM Real Estate. “Our partnership with Fifth Wall provides us with access to the firm’s deep insights and capabilities to access technological solutions in Europe. This partnership, alongside our partners in Asia-Pacific and the US, continues to strengthen our global strategy and ensures we remain at the forefront of global technological evolution.” 

Raimondo Amabile, managing director and head of Europe and Latin America at PGIM Real Estate, added: “PGIM Real Estate continues to make great strides in technological innovation globally, and now more than ever, it is imperative to adapt and evolve as an organization to meet the major disruptions that are changing every facet of our business and industry. The partnership with Fifth Wall in Europe demonstrates our ongoing commitment to proactively engage with the evolving technological landscape to maintain our competitive advantage.” 

“Historically, real estate—one of the largest industries on earth—has been a tech laggard,” said Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner, Fifth Wall. “Fifth Wall was founded and purpose-built to help firms like PGIM Real Estate accelerate their identification and adoption of transformative PropTech solutions. Since Fifth Wall’s inception in 2016, we’ve worked with North American, Asian and European real estate organizations to execute investments in, and structure partnerships with, category-leading technology companies to help ensure the ongoing health and growth of their businesses. We’re thrilled to welcome PGIM Real Estate as a new member of Fifth Wall’s global consortium of more than 65 corporate real estate investors from 15 countries, and we look forward to working with Sara and the PGIM Real Estate team on strengthening the company’s global strategy through technology and innovation.” 

“We believe the European real estate tech market or ‘PropTech’ market is on the cusp of transformative growth and we’re excited to work with PGIM Real Estate, alongside the rest of our strategic LPs, to navigate this change,” said Roelof Opperman, partner, co-head of Europe, Fifth Wall. “As we work closely with PGIM Real Estate to identify its technology priorities, we’re eager to help pair these initiatives with high-potential European PropTech startups, resulting in both financially sound and strategically relevant outcomes.”