GIC is to take a 20% stake in a Turkish real estate developer.

The Singapore sovereign wealth fund has agreed to take the shareholding in Rönesans Gayrimenkul Yatırım (RGY), the real estate arm of Turkey’s Rönesans Group.

GIC will inject €250m into RGY, which will use the capital for acquisitions and new developments across Turkey.

RGY said it would target “strategic locations” in the country’s largest cities, as well as develop its existing 460,000sqm pipeline of retail, office and mixed-use projects.

Chris Morrish, regional head of GIC Real Estate for Europe, said it was confident Turkey would “continue to grow and present good investment opportunities”.

The Ankara-based group, already an affiliate of GIC, said the agreement was in progress via a primary rights issue.

RGY and GIC first formed 50:50 joint ventures in 2012, investing in the Optimum shopping centre concept in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

GIC will be represented on its board following the completion of the transaction this quarter.

RGY said 12 of its 25 properties were income-generating, with eight under development and five in its land bank, to cover more than 540,000sqm gross leasable area.

In addition to the Optimum brand, the company has also developed the Piazza and Kozzy shopping centres and Rönesans Tower and RönesansBiz office centres.

GIC recently bought the remaining stake it did not already own in a Rome shopping centre from CBRE Global Investors.

The agreement gave the company full control of the RomaEst asset in Lunghezza, with CBRE GI agreeing to asset manage the 102,000sqm mall. 

GIC said it was confident in the long-term prospects for Italy and in the future demand for prime regional centres.