EQT Exeter to acquire portfolio of six purpose-built student accommodation assets in the UK

eqt
  • EQT Exeter to acquire six flagship student accommodation assets in two separate transactions from subsidiaries of Watkin Jones PLC and Tide Construction
  • The transactions total 2,313 beds in high-quality developments and will improve the availability of student housing in central locations in top-tier university cities in the UK
  • Bringing its European student housing portfolio to a total of 5,222 beds, EQT Exeter continues to execute on its strategy of providing a high-quality, high value-for-money housing offering with strong sustainability features in university cities that are underserved by the wider residential market

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Real Estate II fund (“EQT Exeter”) has agreed to acquire six flagship student accommodation assets in two separate transactions from subsidiaries of Watkin Jones PLC (“Watkin Jones”) and Tide Construction. The transactions amount to 2,313 beds, 1,254 of which are currently operating with a further 1,059 beds that will be developed by Watkin Jones and delivered during 2023 and 2024.

From Watkin Jones, EQT Exeter has agreed to acquire five assets with a total of 2,063 beds in Bath, Nottingham, Swansea, Bristol and Glasgow, top-tier university cities with severe supply shortages of student accommodation. Watkin Jones is the UK’s leading developer of student housing, having delivered 123 developments with 46,000 beds since 1999. In line with EQT Exeter and Watkin Jones’ high ESG standards, the three development assets are set to achieve BREEAM Excellent with the operating assets having already achieved BREEAM Very Good. Upon completion, Watkin Jones’ in-house operator, Fresh, will manage the five schemes on behalf of EQT Exeter. Covering 32 cities in the UK and Ireland with over 22,000 beds under management, Fresh has a proven ability to provide the full suite of services ranging from pre-opening advisory through to day-to-day management of the delivered projects.

From Tide Construction, EQT Exeter has agreed to acquire 250 beds in an operating asset known as Great Court, located in South Bermondsey, London, which is within close commute to all of the top-tier London universities and easy access to South Bermondsey rail station and Bermondsey tube station. It provides a high-specification offering to students including 24/7 reception, gym, study space, courtyard, cinema and lounge. The development was built with excellent sustainability credentials, achieving BREEAM Excellent and EPC A. The asset will be operated by CRM, an award-winning operator in the UK and EU with approximately 25,000 beds under management and a history dating back to 2003. Under CRM’s management, the asset achieved full occupancy when it opened in 2021.

UK student housing benefits from demographic-driven tailwinds with the 2020/21 academic year seeing its highest ever intake of first-year students on record. Coupled with a dwindling supply pipeline and an increasing obsolescence of older stock, UK students are expected to face increasing housing pressure. Despite global uncertainty, Brexit and the Covid pandemic, the number of international students in the UK continues to rise, largely driven by increasing demand from students who continue to seek entry to best-in-class universities that the UK has to offer. Yet, the new construction pipeline has declined significantly in recent years due predominantly to rising construction costs, restrictive planning policies, affordable housing requirements and competing land use.

These six purpose-built assets are important cornerstone investments as EQT Exeter seeks to aggregate a large portfolio of student housing assets across Europe with high-quality, high value-for-money offerings for students who are underserved by the wider residential market. EQT Exeter sees significant growth potential across the European student housing sector and has a significant pipeline of additional acquisition opportunities in markets with acute demand / supply imbalances and compelling demographic profiles.

Russell Petrie, Head of Student Housing – Europe, at EQT Exeter said, “These transactions mark a significant milestone for EQT Exeter’s expansion in the European student housing sector, bringing the total number student beds in operation or in development to 5,222 and adding a new country to our European footprint. By selecting the best locations in undersupplied markets coupled with an unwavering focus on tenant experience, we expect these assets to be highly attractive to students by providing an environment where they can thrive both educationally and socially.”

Henrik Orrbeck, Head of Transactions – Europe, at EQT Exeter said, “As a global leader in the Sheds, Beds and Meds sectors, student housing is a key pillar to growing EQT Exeter’s thematic investment strategy focused on providing direct-to-consumer real estate solutions in the thriving “living” sector. We are excited to work with Fresh and CRM to deliver a best-in-class product for the students.  We continue to investigate a number of exciting acquisition opportunities as we build upon this success and continue our European expansion efforts with a goal of being one of the leading European student housing investors.”

EQT Exeter was advised by DLA Piper and Capita on the transaction with Watkin Jones.

EQT Exeter was advised by Harris Associates, Taylor Wessing and Arcadis on the transaction with Tide Construction.

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT Exeter
EQT Exeter is a global real estate solutions provider serving corporate and consumer tenants with scope and scale. EQT Exeter is among the largest real estate investment managers in the world, focused on acquiring, developing and managing logistics/industrial, office, life science and residential properties in Europe, the Americas and Asia. EQT Exeter was created through the combination of EQT Real Estate and Exeter Property Group.

A global leader in sheds, beds, and meds, EQT Exeter currently oversees a portfolio totaling over 350 million square feet across 1,800 buildings, while executing a tenant-centric strategy. The EQT Exeter Team comprises more than 300 experienced professionals operating in 44 offices around the globe. Together, they have consummated over 850 real estate investments. As part of EQT, the team leverages the firm’s industry-leading sustainability credentials and framework and in-house digitalization skills to generate increased value for its investor clients.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About Watkin Jones
Watkin Jones is the UK’s leading developer and manager of residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered 46,000 student beds across 136 sites, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations into the build to rent sector. In addition, Fresh, the Group’s specialist accommodation management business, manages over 22,000 student beds and build to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients.

The Group’s competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.

Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker WJG.L. 

For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com

About Tide Construction
Tide Construction Limited is a unique development and contracting company, utilising both traditional and Offsite Manufacturing Methodologies (OSM). It provides full turnkey building solutions using highly advanced offsite techniques and is a market leader in modular construction.

For additional information please visit www.tideconstruction.co.uk

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KKR Grows Self-Storage Portfolio With Five New Acquisitions

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the acquisition of five new self-storage properties totaling approximately 4,100 units for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $98 million. The properties were acquired from four different sellers in three separate transactions and are located in: Phoenix, Arizona; Dallas, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Palm City, Florida.

“We continue to expand our portfolio of high-quality self-storage properties across Sunbelt markets that are experiencing strong population growth and in-migration,” said Ben Brudney, a Director in the Real Estate group at KKR. “We track sector fundamentals closely and believe these assets are located in submarkets that are well positioned to benefit from outsized demand over the medium to long term.”

The purchases were made through KKR’s Americas opportunistic equity real estate fund, KKR Real Estate Partners Americas III.

Since launching a dedicated real estate platform in 2011, KKR has grown its real estate assets under management to approximately $59 billion across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific as of March 31, 2021. KKR’s global real estate team consists of over 135 dedicated investment professionals, spanning both the equity and credit business, across 13 offices and 10 countries.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Media:
Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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Lodha Announces US $1 billion Green Digital Infrastructure Partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge and Bain Capital

BainCapital

Mumbai, May 11, 2022 – Lodha, India’s No.1* real estate developer, today announced a partnership with Bain Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge to develop a next-generation green digital infrastructure platform. The platform will establish a pan-India presence in the digital infrastructure space that includes logistics and light industrial parks as well as in-city fulfillment centers. The platform will jointly invest ~USD 1 billion to create ~30 million sq. ft. of operating assets to serve India’s digital economy. Each of the 3 partners will have a ~33% equity interest in the property ownership, whilst Lodha will lead the development, operations and management of the assets.

Commenting on the partnership, Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO, Lodha said; “With the rapid digitization of our economy and the progress of ‘Make in India’ combined with the China + 1 strategy of most global manufacturers, we see that there is a huge demand for Grade-A digital infrastructure in our country. Following the government’s focus on improving logistics efficiency and creating jobs in different parts of the country, the platform will plan the development of industrial and logistics parks as well in-city fulfillment centers across multiple cities in India. And we will focus on building and operating this infrastructure to the highest levels of environmental sustainability with the view to creating a global benchmark. We’re delighted to expand our partnership with 2 marquee global investors –  Ivanhoé Cambridge and Bain Capital, who bring extensive experience in this asset class and dedicated resources to support the growth of this platform.”

The first project is a 110-acre logistics and industrial park development at Palava, an established location for digital infrastructure in Mumbai. Additionally, the platform has already started looking at the pan-India acquisitions of land and developed/ under-development projects in these asset classes.

“This is an exciting partnership that brings together an experienced real estate developer with deep digital infrastructure capabilities with the complementary support of global investors with long track records of success in commercial real estate,” said Ali Haroon, a Managing Director at Bain Capital. “We see a sustained, thematic opportunity to support India’s journey to a digital-first economy with high-quality infrastructure, which we believe can have a very positive impact on communities, consumers and businesses throughout the country” he added.

“This partnership opens up new perspectives for expansion of our logistics portfolio in India, a high conviction thesis well supported by strong sector fundamentals as India enters a digital super cycle”, commented Chanakya Chakravarti, Vice President & Managing Director, India, at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “We believe the Indian logistics ecosystem continues to offer opportunities driven by positive trends in urbanization, domestic consumption, new impetus to the light manufacturing sector, modernizing multi-modal infrastructure and the rapidly evolving e-commerce sector, which remains largely underpenetrated, compared to other major economies globally. We look forward to expanding our logistics footprint by leveraging Lodha’s proprietary in-city sites, access to land pads in key warehousing nodes and their execution capabilities. The new partnership potentially enables Ivanhoé Cambridge access to near city logistics opportunities as operators pivot to establish same day delivery solutions thus creating differentiated value in our portfolio construct and its scale”, he added.

Bain Capital is a leading global investment platform with deep experience supporting the development of best-in-class logistics, industrial, warehousing and digital assets. Real estate is a core focus of Bain Capital Asia’s Special Situation business and this transaction follows the firm’s approach to building value-added partnerships with skilled local developers.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate industry leader and subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, is involved in developing and investing in high-quality real estate properties.

Lodha is already developing 300 acres of Industrial and Logistics Park near Navi Mumbai, which is almost completely leased out. The company had recently announced a JV with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) for developing 72 acres at the park.  The park is home to global clients such as FM Logistic, Flyjac Logistics, Aptar Pharma and many more, testifying the unique proposition of Grade-A industrial and warehousing park with high-quality infrastructure.

* By residential sales for FY 16-22

About Lodha: 
Lodha is among the largest real estate developer in India that delivers with scale since 1980s. Core business of Lodha is residential real estate development with a focus on affordable and mid-income housing. The company also has a growing industrial & logistics park business where in a short span of time, it has scaled up and made its mark with JVs already signed with marquee investors. Lodha has delivered more than 85 million square feet of real estate and is currently developing ~95 million square feet under its ongoing and planned portfolio. The Group has approximately 4,400 acres of land beyond its ongoing and planned portfolio which will be utilized in developing further Residential, Commercial and Industrial & Logistics spaces. Thriving at building the world’s finest developments, Lodha has created several iconic landmarks across the MMR notable among which are The World Towers, Lodha Altamount, Lodha Park, Lodha New Cuffe Parade and Palava City.

About Bain Capital:  
Bain Capital is a global private investment firm with offices on four continents, more than 1,350 employees and approximately $160 billion in assets under management. Bain Capital’s Special Situations has $15 billion in assets under management and has invested $28 billion since its founding. We provide bespoke capital solutions to meet the diverse needs of companies, entrepreneurs and asset owners – in all market cycles. We partner with companies through their growth journey to raise capital for expansion or M&A, to provide liquidity or for capital structure change. Our dedicated, global team of 100 investment and portfolio professionals contribute the local expertise and capabilities that enable complex investments across markets and cycles.

About Ivanhoé Cambridge:     
Ivanhoé Cambridge develops and invests in high-quality real estate properties, projects and companies that are shaping the urban fabric in dynamic cities around the world. It does so responsibly, with a view to generate long-term performance. Ivanhoé Cambridge is committed to creating living spaces that foster the well-being of people and communities, while reducing its environmental footprint.
Ivanhoé Cambridge invests internationally alongside strategic partners and major real estate funds that are leaders in their markets. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, the Company holds interests in more than 1,200 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. Ivanhoé Cambridge held C$69 billion in real estate assets of December 31, 2021 and is a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (cdpq.com), a global investment group. For more information: ivanhoecambridge.com

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Blackstone Completes €21 Billion Recapitalization of Mileway

Blackstone

London, April 29, 2022 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that existing investors in Mileway have completed the previously announced €21 billion recapitalization of the company alongside Blackstone’s Core+ perpetual capital vehicles.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc provided a fairness opinion with respect to the consideration to be received and Eastdil Secured International Limited provided a real estate value fairness opinion, in each case to the selling funds in connection with the transaction. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc also completed a “go-shop” process on the selling funds’ behalf.

BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank AG, Eastdil Secured International Limited, Goldman Sachs International, Jones Lang LaSalle Limited, JP Morgan Securities plc, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, RBC Capital Markets, and Rothschild & Co served as financial advisors to the selling funds. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor to Blackstone.

The transaction was announced on February 15, 2022.

About Blackstone Real Estate
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $298 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, residential, office, hospitality and retail. Our closed-ended funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ business invests in substantially stabilized real estate assets globally, through both institutional strategies and strategies tailored for income-focused individual investors including Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a U.S. non-listed REIT, as well as Blackstone’s European strategy tailored for non-U.S. individual investors. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

About Mileway
Mileway is the largest owner of last mile logistics real estate assets in Europe. It has a pan-European footprint, with over 1,600 assets across 10 major European countries. Mileway’s largest markets include the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and France, and it has a significant presence in Denmark, Italy, Spain, Finland and Ireland. Mileway has a dedicated team of over 360 employees across 26 offices. To find out more, visit: www.mileway.com.

Media Contact
Louis Clark
Louis.Clark@Blackstone.com
+44 7867 930156

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CapMan Real Estate leases unique office space to Boston Consulting Group in Copenhagen

CapMan Real Estate press release
8 April 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EEST

CapMan Real Estate leases unique office space to Boston Consulting Group in Copenhagen

CapMan Nordic Real Estate II fund has signed a long-term lease for approx. 10,000 sqm of refurbished office space and historic basement with Boston Consulting Group Denmark (BCG), a leading global management consulting firm.

The fund acquired the iconic Red Warehouse building located in Carlsberg Byen in Copenhagen in 2019. The 140-year-old building, originally used as a storage and brewery for Carlsberg, is undergoing a complete transformation into high-end office premises. When finalised, the property will combine the original structure and atmosphere of the building with contemporary sought-after elements and features, such as plenty of natural light and a roof terrace.

“It has been quite the privilege to be involved in the work with transforming this unique building into a modern office while still ensuring the preservation of the values and history from the old building. We have had an overwhelming tenant interest for this property and are very happy with having now signed a lease with BCG, whom we believe the building will be a very good fit for. A special thanks to BCG and all advisors on their side that have been part of this process and made this possible. On our side we have worked very close together with Ulrik Larsen from Revco, Steen Niebling from SN consult and Mikkel Westfall and his team of architects. They all deserve a lot of credit to make this possible,” says Peter Gill, Partner and Head of CapMan Real Estate Denmark.

The office space covers 6,000 sqm over three floors and in addition BCG will be occupying approx. 4,000 sqm of historic basement space. These rooms, complete with vaulted ceilings, were originally used as cold storage for ingredients used in beer production and are an integrated part of the original basement that runs under the old section of Carlberg Byen.

“This basement space conveys the vibrant history of the building and the entire Carlsberg Byen area and holds as such special significance for both us and for the tenant,” concludes Gill.

CapMan expects that the conversion will be completed during the second quarter of 2023 with the new tenants scheduled to move in in June 2023.

CapMan Real Estate currently manages over EUR 4.0 billion in real estate assets. The Real Estate Team comprises over 60 real estate professionals in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and London.

For more information, please contact:

Peter Gill, Partner, Head of CapMan Real Estate Denmark, +45 20 43 55 63

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. As one of the private equity pioneers in the Nordics we have built value in unlisted businesses, real estate, and infrastructure for over three decades. Our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We are dedicated to set science-based targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover minority and majority investments in portfolio companies and real estate, and infrastructure assets. We also provide wealth management solutions. Our service business includes procurement and analysis, reporting and back office services. Altogether, CapMan employs approximately 160 professionals in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001.

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Partners Group invests in LogCap, a last mile logistics platform in Oslo

Partners Group
  • Portfolio comprised of 19 assets with a combined GAV of EUR 442 million
  • High demand for last mile assets and limited supply underpinning strong rental growth
  • Partners Group plans to grow LogCap’s platform to over EUR 1 billion in size

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has agreed to invest in LogCap, a last mile logistics platform in Oslo, on behalf of its clients. The seed portfolio is comprised of 19 assets with a combined GAV of EUR 442 million. Following the transaction, Partners Group will be the largest shareholder in the LogCap portfolio with a 50% stake.

LogCap’s portfolio is strategically located in the Drammen-Langhus-Lillestrøm logistics triangle, which is considered the most attractive area for last mile logistics assets in Oslo. Around two million people can be reached within a one-hour drive of this area, representing 37% of Norway’s population. The portfolio has over 100 tenants from a range of industries, which provides strong diversified cashflows and insight into demand dynamics. It is 96% occupied and the average remaining contract period is 4.9 years with 100% annual inflation adjustment leases. A limited supply of logistics space combined with strong demand due to rising e-commerce sales volumes is underpinning rental growth in Oslo. The conversion of industrial premises to residential and office space in recent years has reduced existing stock whilst natural geographic barriers are restricting new urban developments. Meanwhile, the Norwegian e-commerce market is projected to grow at a 13.8% CAGR between 2022 and 2025.

Partners Group will work with LogCap on a value creation plan and seek to expand the portfolio to over EUR 1 billion in size. LogCap has already identified a strong pipeline of potential add-on targets. In addition, Partners Group will also look to enhance the ESG credentials of underlying assets in line with its commitment to stakeholder impact.

Anne-Jan Jager, Managing Director, Private Real Estate Europe, Partners Group, says: “We have been tracking the logistics sector in Norway for some time through our thematic investing approach and following LogCap’s development since early 2021. We plan to capitalize on strong occupier demand and limited new stock to create a leading last mile logistics platform in the country. This investment in LogCap is a great starting point as it provides instant access to scale, vertical depth, and sourcing capabilities in the capital.”

Anders Brustad-Nilsen, Chief Executive Officer, ORO, adds: “We are very excited to welcome Partners Group as the largest investor in LogCap. The firm’s extensive expertise in the sector will be very valuable as we look to scale our existing logistics platform around the greater Oslo area.”

Partners Group’s Private Real Estate business has USD 18 billion in assets under management globally. The firm deployed USD 4 billion of equity across private real estate in 2021, of which c. 40% was in the logistics sector.

Arctic Securities structured the acquisition of the LogCap platform, with Advokatfirmaet Schjødt as legal advisor.

Kirkland & Ellis, Thommessen, and PwC advised Partners Group. DnB is providing the debt financing for the transaction.

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BDC exits investment in Groupe CIR

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Bridgepoint

BlackFin Capital Partners, leading European investor in the financial services sector with €2 billion euros in assets under management, has signed an agreement to become majority shareholder of Groupe CIR, French leader in design, structuring and distribution of savings products based on underlying city-center real estate. BlackFin will replace Bridgepoint Development Capital to support the management team led by CIR founders François Larrère and Franck Temim as they embark on a new phase of growth.

Founded in 1988, Groupe CIR has established its position as independent specialist in city-center real-estate investment. The Group provides French savers and institutional investors with products based on underlying high-quality city-center real estate through three offers: CIR for direct investment in Malraux products, land deficits and historic monuments, Urban Premium for indirect investment through housing and yield real estate investment companies, and Agarim for bare ownership investment. The Group markets more than 1250 investment packages a year through a network of over 800 banking partners and asset management advisors.

Since 2017, with Bridgepoint’s support, CIR has more than doubled in size, boosting its revenue to over €25 million while consolidating its core business and accelerating diversification, notably through integration of Agarim and partnerships signed with top-flight institutional investors.

BlackFin will become the majority shareholder in Groupe CIR and its subsidiaries, alongside its founders, François Larrère and Franck Temim and the management team. They share the same ambition to accelerate the Group’s growth with the aim of offering more high-quality products to the savers and institution investors making up its customer base. Completion of the operation is subject to regulatory approval.

Francois Larrere Chairman of Groupe CIR:

“In this press release we talk about the year – 1998 – in which CIR was created.

It is legitimate to ask questions about the reasons behind a company’s long-term success.

Why do some achieve excellence over all these years? How do they continue to thrive despite the troubled periods that inevitably arise in the natural course of events?

GROUPE CIR has become leader in its business sector by consistently fostering development, change and renewal and setting itself challenging targets.

Most important, it has forged its character through a corporate culture whose first principle defines ‘Quality’ as nothing other than customer satisfaction.

This success is built on the skills and motivation of all the partners who have collaborated with us in a spirit of shared success.

During these five years of collaboration with Bridgepoint Development Capital, CIR Groupe has enjoyed significant growth in every aspect of its business.

Today, alongside BlackFin Capital Partners, we are ready to embark on a new period of strong growth. Our relationship is established, based on agreements setting the ‘Course to Follow’ for shared prosperity.“

Franck Temim, CEO of Groupe CIR: “Capitalizing on our Group’s unique positioning in France, we are keen to participate in growth of a savings market fueled by strong demand from private and institutional investors by proposing a broad range of high-quality and environmentally sustainable investment opportunities based on underlying real-estate assets.

The arrival of a major specialist such as BlackFin Capital Partners as new shareholder gives us the enthusiasm and ambition to accelerate our growth and diversification.“

Bertrand Demesse, Partner at Bridgepoint Development Capital : “We are very proud to have had the opportunity to accompany Groupe CIR in its ambitious development over the last few years. From the beginning of our collaboration at end 2017, Groupe CIR has considerably accelerated its growth, doubling in size by strengthening its core business and accelerating its diversification. Today, more than ever, Groupe CIR has all the strengths it needs to continue growing under the leadership of a talented management team.”

Bruno Rostain, Founding Partner at BlackFin Capital Partners: “We are very enthusiastic about the idea of working with CIR’s management team to write the next page of the Group’s history. We will support its growth initiatives, particularly as concerns institutional investors, digitization and a policy of targeted acquisitions.”

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Ardian launches Real Estate Debt strategy

Ardian

09 MARCH 2022 REAL ESTATE FRANCE, PARIS

The strategy deepens Ardian’s expertise and presence in European real estate.

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announced the creation of a Real Estate Debt activity to manage funds and mandates related to finance pan-European real estate projects.

Ardian Real Estate Debt will be managed by Arnaud Chaléac, as Head of Ardian Real Assets Debt. With more than twenty years’ experience in finance, and Co-Head of Group Finance at Ardian since 2008, he has developed a strong expertise in structured financing. Arnaud Chaléac joined Ardian fourteen years ago after working with major French groups across the sector, including Air Liquide, Kering, and Crédit Agricole.

He will be supported in this new activity by Sandrine Amsili, Managing Director, who will develop the platform alongside him. Sandrine has 20 years’ experience in the real estate sector, including 17 years in real estate debt. Prior to joining Ardian in 2021, she held several management positions, including at Europhypo, CBRE Global investors, and most recently as Director of real estate debt at SCOR Investment Partners, where she helped create the company’s platform.

The Real Estate Debt activity will focus on senior debt and will seek to finance, alongside banks, in European real estate projects. All investments will have a strong ESG angle – in line with Ardian Real Estate’s wider strategy – to create spaces and places for more sustainable and decarbonized cities. This strategy complements Ardian’s Real Estate activity, which is led by Stéphanie Bensimon.

With significant experience in financing, the team has access to a broad and diversified internal platform that includes the entire Ardian network and all its resources. It will also draw on the expertise of Ardian local teams in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“Real estate is an important growth driver for Ardian. We have great ambitions so the launch of our new Real Estate Debt activity is a logical next step in our development. The team, led by Arnaud Chaléac with the support of Sandrine Amsili and our European network, combines in-depth knowledge of the sector with expertise in debt structuring. Our ambition is for Ardian to become a key player in real-estate debt management and I am confident in our ability to meet growing demand from investors to access projects that contribute to the real economy.” Dominique Senequier, Founder and President of Ardian

“With the creation of the real estate debt activity we will be able to support major real estate investors with project financing, especially as leading banks increasingly need alternative lenders like Ardian Real Estate Debt as partners. With a team of recognized experts, excellent market access and the confidence of financial partners, we are well positioned to offer our clients an attractive risk/return profile and contribute to the growth of the real estate debt market in Europe.” Arnaud Chaléac, Head of Ardian Real Assets Debt and Co-Head of Group Finance of Ardian

“Since 2016, Real Estate at Ardian has grown significantly. Equity investments through two generations of value added funds have enabled the deployment of more than €3.7 billion of real estate assets in major European capitals, with a balanced risk profile and excellent performance. This new real estate debt platform complements our offer and will help meet the needs of investors seeking a secure debt return with a major real estate focus. For the coming years, our real estate development ambitions remain strong across the different risk profiles offered by our real estate markets in Europe.” Stéphanie Bensimon, Head of Real Estate at Ardian

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$125 billion managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 850 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Secondaries, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

PRESS CONTACT

ARDIAN

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Ardian acquires Berlin’s “Ritterhof” office building

Ardian

Fourth investment in Berlin and eighth in Germany strengthens Ardian Real Estate’s position in the German real estate market

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the “Ritterhof” office and administration building, located at Ritterstrasse 11 in Berlin-Kreuzberg, from an undisclosed family office. This acquisition marks Ardian Real Estate’s eighth investment in Germany. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.
Built during 1905 and 1906, the office complex is characterized by its historic industrial architecture, with reddish-black bricks and the white brick façade of its courtyards. The architectural monument, which was modernized by the seller in 2015, is one of the few surviving historical buildings in Berlin’s former “export quarter”, or “Rollkutscherviertel” – named after the high-volume of horse drawn carriages once used to transport goods. The property consists of three courtyards, eight staircases and three covered passageways, with around 13,000 square meters of space available to rent. Ritterhof is centrally located in Berlin-Kreuzberg, just a few stops on the underground from Potsdamer Platz and in the immediate vicinity of the Moritzplatz and Kottbusser Tor underground stations.
About one-third of the building was recently leased by the finance and business portal Wallstreet Online, and the remaining two-thirds are to be leased after extensive improvements. Ardian Real Estate intends to upgrade the courtyards and common areas, for example, with strong sustainability credentials that match the changing requirements of the modern workforce.

“We expect to see continued demand for office space in Berlin that meets the needs of a changing work world and fulfills high sustainability standards. The Ritterhof building complex is therefore an ideal fit for the investment strategy of our second real estate fund, AREEF II, which recently closed and through which we are investing into office buildings with the potential for strong rental and value growth in Europe’s core cities.” Nico Rheims, Managing Direction Ardian Real Estate.

Ardian Real Estate has already acquired three office properties in Berlin in recent years. These include the STORE office building at Spichernstrasse 2-3 in Berlin’s City-West and the CARL office complex at Lützowstrasse 105-106 in Berlin Mitte, which were acquired by Ardian Real Estate in 2018, and in 2019 the ELISA “3 Höfe work” office building at Lützowstrasse 107-112 in Berlin Mitte, which is leased on a long-term basis to the interdisciplinary Forschungszentrum Jülich and the pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

Ardian Real Estate’s investment focus is on office properties in major European cities in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, where Ardian is already active through various direct investments. Ardian is targeting commercial properties – in particular, office buildings and mixed-use properties in inner-city locations – with an average of more than EUR 100 million in the Core Plus and Value Added segments. In Germany, WestendCarree (Frankfurt), Quartier 21 (Hamburg) and “3 Höfe work” (Berlin) are among its best-known investments.

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KKR partners with the Vision Group in Germany

KKR

February 23, 2022

Mannheim, 23. February 2022 – Vision Group, a residential real estate investor and asset manager based in Mannheim, Germany, is laying the foundation for further growth through a strategic partnership with KKR, a leading global investment firm.

Vision will work together with KKR to provide real estate units as investment opportunities to private investors, family offices and institutional investors. Vision and KKR will purchase residential properties and invest in them to enhance the quality of living for tenants through operational upgrades while also reducing their energy footprint. The professionally managed real estate units will then be offered for sale to private investors, providing an attractive long-term savings and retirement opportunity for clients. All rental agreements will remain in place throughout; both at acquisition as well as at the sale of the units.

The strategic partnership will focus on prospering mid-sized cities throughout Germany, with Vision Group and KKR actively looking to identify assets that will enable them to build on their strategy.

Established in 2016, Vision Group is an investor, developer and residential property owner with a portfolio currently comprising of more than 500 apartments.

“Seven years after Vision Group’s founding, we are entering the next phase of our company’s development. With this strategic partnership with KKR, we are preparing the company for future growth. Our market expertise as well as our sustainable and digital business model are the cornerstones of our success. We look forward to working with KKR to further build on this and meet the demands of private investors looking to build wealth or secure their retirement”, said Felix Balck, founder and CEO of Vision Group.

Niclas Wallrafen, COO and Partner of Vision Group, commented: “Our full-service solutions along the entire real estate value chain make our business model unique. Our investment into creating quality properties is an integral part of our approach, with a particular focus on measures to increase energy efficiency and tenant satisfaction.”

 

About Vision Group

Vision Group, headquartered in Mannheim, is a residential real estate investor and asset manager with a focus on the German market. The company is characterised by its digitalised full-service business model, which offers all services along the entire real estate value chain: from acquisition to refurbishment and modernisation to exit and tenant search. Target markets of the company are B and C locations in German metropolises and economic centres.

Press contact

Anke Sostmann

Feldhoff & Cie. GmbH

T: +49 (0) 69 2648677 – 14

M: +49 (0) 159 04028505

E: as@feldhoff-cie.de

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