Barings Real Estate has broadened its presence in the Nordics by agreeing its first Swedish housing market investment via a €128m acquisition.

The manager said it has secured the six residential buildings in Stockholm through a forward commitment.

Barings, which made the acquisition on behalf of institutional investors, said the seller is a joint venture between Slättö VII and property company Fastpartner.

The buildings will be developed over five phases and will comprise 610 apartments for rent in Bromsten, in the city of Stockholm. Construction is expected to complete in 2022.

Staffan Unge, a managing director at Barings and real estate country head for Sweden, said: “This is a rare opportunity to access the Stockholm residential rental market with new purpose-built buildings in a strong location.

”Aside our usual search profile for office, logistics and retail, residential and student housing are major themes for Barings in 2019, across the Nordics. Forward commitments represent an attractive means of securing good quality stock.”

Barings entered the European housing market in August 2017, by acquiring a €43m portfolio of seven properties in Finland from the Finnish pensions insurance company Varma.