Catella’s new European residential fund buys first UK asset

The Catella European Residential Fund III fund has invested £32m (€37m) to buy its first UK asset.

The fund’s manager Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and its UK-based partner Catella APAM have acquired The Arches in Leicester from developer Watkin Jones. The 184-unit build to rent development will open in August.

Hugh McAleer at Catella APAM, said: “This transaction is the first acquisition that Catella APAM has carried out acting as CER III’s investment and asset manager. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in traditional living and working patterns.

“As a result, the high quality and varied communal facilities and outside space incorporated into The Arches will establish a new benchmark for this type of rental accommodation in Leicester.”

Patrick Au Yeung, fund manager for the Catella European Residential Fund III, said: “With Catella APAM we have been able to secure our first UK acquisition for the CER III Fund as part of a longer-term strategy to invest in high-quality, well-located, residential assets across the UK.

“With the acquisition in Leicester in the UK, we’re able to invest already in the seventh country for CER III in less than 2 years. The fund has a strong pipeline with compelling investment opportunities to act upon in the forthcoming months in order to further grow and diversify the portfolio.”

To read the digital edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.