Types of equity capital VS Capital Group places
Our equity placement practice covers the full institutional spectrum.
- Joint venture (JV) equity for single-asset acquisitions and developments
- Programmatic equity for sponsors with repeatable strategies across multiple assets
- Limited partner (LP) equity for sponsor-led funds and separate accounts
- Recapitalization equity for existing assets seeking new partners or refinanced equity
- GP co-investment capital for sponsors needing to fund their general partner stake
- Preferred equity (covered separately under our Preferred Equity practice)
Matching the sponsor to the right capital partner
The capital partner is as important as the deal. The right institutional equity partner brings aligned underwriting standards, a compatible decision-making cadence, a workable promote and waterfall, and the bandwidth to handle reporting and asset management requirements without consuming the sponsor's time.
VS Capital Group's institutional equity relationships span hundreds of dedicated real estate capital sources, each with distinct asset-class focus, geographic focus, deal size, return targets, hold period, and partnership philosophy. We match the deal to the capital partners most likely to lead and most likely to be a constructive long-term partner.
What sponsors should expect from an equity placement process
Institutional equity placement is more rigorous than debt placement. The investment package, sponsor track record, asset business plan, sensitivities, market analysis, deal structure, GP terms, and exit assumptions, has to withstand institutional underwriting before any equity partner will commit.
VS Capital Group leads the package preparation, manages the lender / equity dialogue, and negotiates partnership economics, promote, preferred return, catch-up, lookback, GP co-invest, control provisions, removal rights, so the final partnership reflects the sponsor's value while securing the institutional capital required to close.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between JV equity and LP equity?
- JV equity is typically a single-asset partnership between a sponsor (the general partner) and an institutional equity partner (the limited partner) for one transaction. LP equity is broader, capital committed by limited partners to a sponsor's fund vehicle or separate account, deployed across multiple investments at the sponsor's discretion subject to the partnership's investment criteria.
- How much GP co-investment do equity partners typically require?
- Institutional equity partners typically require the sponsor (GP) to co-invest 5 to 15 percent of the common equity, with 10 percent the most common requirement. Programmatic relationships with proven sponsors sometimes allow lower co-invest in exchange for accelerated deployment.
- What is a typical equity promote structure?
- Most institutional JV equity structures use a tiered waterfall: the LP receives a preferred return (typically 8 to 10 percent IRR) on its capital first, then the GP and LP split residual cash flows at progressively higher promote splits as performance hurdles are met, commonly 20 percent GP promote above the preferred return, escalating to 30 to 40 percent above higher IRR hurdles.
- How long does an equity placement take?
- Single-asset JV equity placements typically take 60 to 120 days from engagement to closed partnership, depending on the deal's complexity, the sponsor's package readiness, and the equity partner's investment committee cadence.
- Can I raise equity for a deal under contract?
- Yes. Most institutional JV equity is raised against a specific deal under contract or in advanced diligence. The contract gives the equity partner a defined investment thesis to underwrite and a clear closing timeline to manage to.