Bouwfonds Investment Management is launching a second European residential property fund.

The Dutch company said the vehicle was aimed at European investors and would follow on from its first European open-ended residential fund, launched nine years ago.

It is looking to raise up to €1bn for the vehicle.

Martin Eberhardt, country manager for Germany at Bouwfonds IM, said the fund was launched “in response to the strong demand among institutional investors for investment opportunities in European residential markets”.

He added: “We plan to launch the fund in the first half of 2016.”

The fund will invest in residential properties in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain and the UK.

Bouwfonds’s first fund holds 77 residential properties in five European countries.

Around half of the portfolio is in Germany, 20% in the Netherlands, 15% in Denmark and 11% in France.

As of last month, the fund’s assets amounted to €868.2m, with a debt ratio of 21.9%.