Catella Residential Investment Management’s (CRIM) newly launched pan-European fund has an initial investment pipeline of more than €200m, the manager said today as it announced its first investment of €42m in Denmark.

Catella European Residential Fund III – launched in March 2019 for international clients with €50m of seed capital from an unmanned German pension fund – has acquired 83 apartments at Fillippahaven in the Valby district of Copenhagen.

The manager said it also has more than €200m of potential investment pipeline in markets including Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France which it intends to announce in the coming weeks.

The open-ended fund, which plans to invest at least €1bn in residential real estate, is CRIM’s first Luxembourg-based pan-European vehicle opened to international investors. The predecessor funds were structured for German institutional investors.

Fund III targets a diversified portfolio of affordable apartments through new developments and standing properties in growing market segments such as student housing, young professionals and senior housing.

CRIM said it has agreed a placement agent partnership with CBRE EMEA Equity Placement, to help raise capital from institutional investors, foundations, funds of funds and other professional investors. Vistra Fund Management will manage the fund.

Michael Fink, managing director at CRIM, said residential real estate investment has been growing very rapidly and apartments overtook retail as the second largest property sector after offices in Europe in the second half of last year.

“International institutional investors have a strong appetite for the stable long-term rental income flows that residential has to offer and that are available in our new fund.

“There is no other specialised investment manager that can provide the same extensive geographically diversified platform as Catella.”