A number of large residential and hospitality investment funds were launched this week across Europe, suggesting dealmaking activity in these sectors might heat up further in 2015.

Well-informed market sources say Generali Real Estate is working out the final details of a new European hospitality fund targeting a volume of around 鈧�2bn. The move, which was first reported by Green Street News, will see the Italian property group enter new European markets in search for hotel properties and invest in the ones where it is already active. The company currently owns 14 hotel properties in major cities in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

In the Nordics, Swedish real estate investor Revelop has announced the final closing for its sixth value-add fund Revelop VI. With SEK3.8bn (鈧�330m) in equity commitments the fund is the largest in the firm鈥檚 history. It was significantly oversubscribed with respect to its initial SEK 3 bn target and hit the hard-cap within one year of its first close.

鈥榃e are proud and grateful to have raised our largest ever fund in the worst fundraising environment in over a decade,鈥� commented Thomas Sipos, Group CEO & executive partner. 鈥楾he strong investor interest is a testament to our thematic approach to deliver high risk-adjusted returns and our strong operational platform that has been built patiently over time. A larger fund size allows us to execute on a broader spectrum of deals and achieve critical mass within certain themes.鈥�

Revelop VI will focus on the greater Swedish metropolitan regions, including 脰resund, with a multi-sector approach targeting urban in-fill, urban industrial and social infrastructure assets as well as assets that are experiencing cyclical challenges that are negatively impacting current values.

In the UK, L&G received a 拢100 mln equity commitment from Greater Manchester Pension fund for an affordable housing fund while in Germany Deutsche Zinshaus secured 鈧�100 mln from an institutional investor and said it aims to build a 鈧�250 mln residential portfolio for a new investment vehicle.

These fund launches seem to signal a change of direction in fundraising activity which was sluggish last year with Q1-Q3 2024 marking the lowest amount of capital raised for private real estate funds since the first three quarters of 2012, according to data from PERE and Preqin.

Lending activity was as strong as new acquisitions this week, with over 10 transactions boasting a very diversified mix of financiers. The largest transactions were Bank of America鈥檚 拢233 mln financing for Quintain鈥檚 London Designer Outlet and the Ferrum BTR development at Wembley Park and Citibank鈥檚 拢159 mln facility to Capital-38 for the BrightStar PBSA portfolio in the UK.

In the assets on the market section, Howard Group hired JLL to sell the Unity Campus in Cambridge for 拢150 mln while the Kongah盲lla Center in Gothenburg was put up for sale for a price believed to be around 鈧�150 mln.

 

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
50% equity stake in AGLP logistics UK TPG Real Estate M&G 6 million ft2 拢350 (鈧�414) AGLP is the UK鈥檚 fourth largest multi-let industrial portfolio at 6 million sq ft, occupied by 630 businesses.
25% stake in a mixed use portfolio in Mayfair mixed London NBIM Grosvenor 175 buildings 拢305 (鈧�360) The 拢1.2 bn portfolio consists of 175 market rent and long-leasehold buildings.
industrial estate logistics Manchester M7 Network Space Developments 206,000 ft2 拢147 (鈧�174) The acquisition is the first undertaken by M7 on behalf of the newly formed joint venture between Oxford Properties and AustralianSuper.
Royal Mail King鈥檚 Cross site logistics London Rreef Royal Mail Group and Parcelforce Worldwide NA 拢100 (鈧�118) The asset was first put on the market in 2023 through CBRE.
two newly developed logistics facilities logistics Drunen and Hulst, the Netherlands Clarion Partners Europe VolkerWessels Logistics Development, REDD 58,000 m2 鈧�80 The separate transactions take Clarion Partners Europe鈥檚 committed investment in the Netherlands past 鈧�340 million since the start of 2024.
Ransome鈥檚 Wharf development London London Square CDL 1.6 acres 拢69 (鈧�82) The development will feature 118 homes, with 94 premium one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments for private sale, and 24 affordable homes, with more than 19,000 ft2 of commercial space.
400-bed PBSA portfolio living Cardiff and Exeter Greystar Ethos Property 400 beds 拢60 (鈧�71) Both properties, developed by Ethos Property, will now operate under Greystar鈥檚 Canvas brand.
Liding枚 Centrum retail Liding枚, Sweden CA Fastigheter Grosvenor 20,000 m2 SEK 768 (鈧�67) Grosvenor acquired Liding枚 Centrum in the spring of 2018 from Rockspring for a price just over SEK 900 mln.
Grand Hotel hotel Dublin FBD Hotels and Resorts The Ryan family 202 bedrooms 鈧�55 BD H&R signalled that it plans to invest in upgrading the Grand Hotel over the coming period.
LSS care home portfolio living Sweden NA Aedifica 22 care assets SEK 576 (鈧�50) The 22 small-scale residential care centres accommodate 160 residents.
H枚gsbo 55:13 alternative Gothenburg Infranode Platzer 10,000 m2 SEK 552 (鈧�48) The school was developed by Platzer and was completed in the summer of 2024.
Neumarkt complex mixed Cologne PAMERA Real Estate Partners Sonar Real Estate 8,650 m2 鈧�40 The main tenants are well-known companies including AllDent, Kreissparkasse K枚ln, REWE and dm.
two logistics assets logistics Madrid and Barcelona Fidelity Real Estate Logistics abrdn European Logistics Income plc 21,000 m2 鈧�29.7 The company announced in November that it was planning to sell six assets.
Carl-Benz-Strasse 7-9 logistics Immendingen, Germany LIP Invest Panattoni 17,000 m2 NA The Panattoni project development is let on a long-term lease to the company SF Filter.
Milano 3.0 -Next Generation Living buildings living Basiglio, Milan Fabrica Immobiliare sgr鈥檚 Aristotele fund Orion鈥檚 High Garden fund 87 apartments NA The 鈧�100 mln project consists of a total of 260 apartments.
3.3-acre site logistics Enfield, UK Valor Real Estate Partners private seller 3.3 acres NA Valor intends to replace the existing property with a 109,000 ft2, state-of-the-art distribution unit.
three buildings living Madrid Greystar Bain Capital 2,030 apartments NA The apartments, partly completed, represent 鈧�300 mln of Gross Asset Value.
121 apartments living Nuremberg, Germany Tishman Speyer P&P Group 121 flats NA Completion of the property is already planned for the end of 2025.
Allegro BTR development living Birmingham QuadReal and Realstar NA 345,662 ft2 NA The scheme comprises 603 units across three buildings connected by a large central garden podium.
prime logistics scheme logistics Zabrze, Poland Generali Group Kajima Europe 45,000 m2 NA The site鈥檚 anchor tenant is a global leader in medical equipment production.
Fresh Wharf living Barking, UK Notting Hill Genesis Countryside Partnerships, Notting Hill Developments 285 homes NA The homes form the final phase of Fresh Wharf, a 911-home mixed-use regeneration scheme.
a 74-acre site alternative London Tritax Big Box REIT NA 74 acres NA The site has the potential for the development of an initial data centre of 107 MW.
Cheshunt Lakeside scheme living Hertfordshire, UK Galliard Homes Administrators from Kroll 1,725 new homes NA The 拢620 mln project was previously owned by Cheshunt Lakeside Developments.
Monte Rei Golf & Country Club hotel Vila Real de Santo Ant贸nio, Portugal Arrow Global Ram贸n Lopez NA NA The acquisition is being made through the ACO II MAY sarl, l vehicle.

 

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
Unity Campus mixed Cambridgeshire, UK Howard Group 260,000 ft2 拢150 (鈧�177) JLL The office and lab campus comprises a total of seven buildings.
Kongah盲lla Center retail Gothenburg Adapta and Alecta 37,000 m2 鈧�150 NA The shopping center was opened in March 2019 and has approximately 100 stores and restaurants.
2 Hilton and Holiday Inn hotels hotel Porto, Portugal Davidson Kempner 481 rooms 鈧�90 ECS, JLL The two properties are located in Vila Nova de Gaia, near the coastal city of Porto.
Torre della Permanente office Milan Artisa Group 5,700 m2 鈧�65 Colliers and CBRE The 14-storey property was completely redeveloped.
Limes portfolio mixed Germany Demire鈥檚 administrators Brinkmann & Partner 85,000 m2 NA CR IM and Mellum The four commercial properties in Aschheim, Essen, Kassel and Cologne belonged to Demire before it went into administration last summer.

 

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
Bond investors Adler Unsecured 鈧�700 The operation refinances 1.5L notes issued by Adler Financing S.脿 r.l.
Bond investors Heimstaden Unsecured 鈧�500 The new EUR Notes carry a coupon of 8.375% until maturity and the new SEK Notes carry a coupon of 3 months STIBOR + 600 basis points until maturity.
Bond investors Stoneweg European REIT Unsecured 鈧�500 The green bond was five times oversubscribed.
Bank of America Quintain London Designer Outlet and the Ferrum BTR development at Wembley Park 拢233 (鈧�275) Ferrum features 627 BTR flats while London designer outlet provides 265,000 ft2.
Citibank Capital-38 BrightStar PBSA portfolio in the UK 拢159 (鈧�188) The loan refinances a portfolio of five assets consisting of 2,048 beds in Sheffield, Nottingham, Loughborough, Colchester and Guildford.
LaSalle IM Apollo-managed funds Pavilion Court in London 拢100 (鈧�118) The facility was provided through the group鈥檚 flagship LaSalle Real Estate Debt Strategies IV (LREDS IV) Fund.
Maslow Capital CityLife and Torsion Group SkyGardens Build-to-Sell residential scheme in Leeds 拢54.4 (鈧�64) Once completed, the scheme will comprise 306 high-specification residential units across a 32-storey tower.
Incus Capital international real estate private equity firm 10,000 m2 office building in Berlin 鈧�60 This transaction marks Incus鈥檚 first deal in Germany, following the opening of its Frankfurt office in 2024.
BGO Feldberg Capital and Henry Boot Origin venture鈥檚 initial portfolio of seed assets 拢54 (鈧�64) The loan will fund the acquisition and development of three sites from HBD鈥檚 pipeline with a combined GDV of 拢100 mln.
OakNorth Paloma Capital multi-let urban assets in the UK 拢50 (鈧�59) The loan will be used to fund an opportunistic strategy focussing primarily on income-producing, multi-let urban industrial and logistics schemes.
Pbb PineBridge Benson Elliot three shopping centers in 艁贸d藕, Toru艅 and Krak贸w NA The portfolio comprises a total of 82,000 m虏 of gross leasable area and has a well-diversified and strong tenant mix.
Octopus Real Estate Mitheridge Captial Management Hackney Wick development site in London NA The site has detailed planning consent for the creation of a 337-unit co-living scheme.

 

 

Funds on the market   
Firm Fund Strategy Details
Generali Hotel Fund Investing in hotel properties across Europe. The Italian group is targeting a volume of 鈧�2 bn for the new fund.
L&G Affordable Housing Fund Developing high quality, sustainable affordable housing across the UK. Greater Manchester Pension fund invested 拢100 mln in the fund.
Revelop Revelop VI The value-add fund will invest in submarkets and sectors that benefits from structural growth in Sweden. The vehicle raised SEK 3.8 bn (鈧�330 mln) in equity commitments.
Deutsche Zinshaus Resi Fund Investing in residential properties across Germany. The fund has raised 鈧�100 mln from an institutional investor and aims to build a 鈧�250 mln residential portfolio.