Barry Sternlicht’s $15b real estate fund limits withdrawals

A giant real estate fund managed by the company of billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht is limiting the amount of money that investors can redeem, in an attempt to fend off a potential cash crunch as high interest rates pummel the market for commercial properties such as office buildings.

Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, which manages about $US10 billion ($15 billion) and is one of the largest real estate investment trusts around, said last week it would buy back only 1 per cent of the value of the fund’s assets every quarter, down from 5 per cent earlier.