One of the largest private equity firms in the world has moved into the Los Angeles alternative asset market space. 

KKR & Co. Inc. opened an office in Century City this month, joining 11 other firms with existing outposts in the business district.

KKR’s space will initially house around 25 employees, working in the firm’s real estate, private equity, private wealth and institutional client teams.

Known as one of the first firms to bet on large-scale leveraged buyouts, KKR now invests across infrastructure, capital markets and health care. 

Market players competing at the same scale in Los Angeles include Apollo Capital Management Inc and Blackstone Inc., the latter of which became the first in the industry to hit $1 trillion in assets, doing so in July.

KKR historically has a strong presence on the West Coast: its co-founder and chairman, George Roberts, has long operated out of the Bay Area and the firm has offices in San Francisco and Menlo Park. 

KKR has over the years gradually increased its real estate foothold in the Southwestern U.S., including California’s inland valley. Assets include industrial warehouses, self-storage facilities and niche properties such as student housing. 

With boots now on the ground in Los Angeles, KKR’s head of U.S. real estate private equity, Justin Pattner, sees the firm digging in on the local market.

“Los Angeles has been naturally the last piece of the puzzle for us,” Pattner said. “And I fully expect that we’re going to be able to be a lot more active in the broader L.A. area than we have been at least historically.”