M7 invests in European property, raises €35m for debut CEE fund

M7 Real Estate is investing €213m in Finland, Germany and the Netherlands for its fourth European Real Estate Investment Partners vehicle.

The pan-European fund manager said it was close to closing a €151m deal to buy 35 office, logistics and retail assets across the three countries, while two separate portfolios in Finland and the Netherlands have been bought.

The 63,935sqm Finnish portfolio, sold by OP Property Management’s Real Estate Fund Finland I, includes three retail, two office and seven industrial assets.

The Dutch portfolio, which includes six urban logistics properties, is spread across the Randstad region.

Richard Croft, M7’s chief executive, said the company saw an opportunity to add value through asset management in “attractive, income-producing investments across multiple sectors and geographies”.

He said: “Having put our first tranche of investor capital to work, we expect to have senior debt in place shortly to enable a second phase of acquisitions and will then be following this up with a further equity close later in the final quarter.”

M7 raised an initial €175m for the fund in a first close in September, backed by investors from Hong Kong and the Middle East.

With leverage, the initial raise provides the fund with €400m to invest.

The London-based company has also raised €35m for its first Central European fund.

The M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I vehicle was backed by family offices and high net worth individuals.

Oregon House in Prague, a 14,330sqm office building, has been bought for the fund.

It is 68.3% let to tenants including Schindler CZ, Proceram and IKEA, producing €1.5m in annual rents.

Croft said a second close before the end of 2016 was scheduled, targeting a net investment capability of around €130m.