PFA, Denmark’s second-biggest pension fund, has bought the majority of a portfolio of German micro-apartments from AviaRent Invest for more than €252m.

According to investment company Domicil Real Estate – which made the investment on behalf of PFA and invested in one of the properties itself – the transaction was one of the largest in the micro-apartment segment in Germany.

The portfolio contains 13 properties, 12 of which will be transferred to the PFA German real estate portfolio, managed by Domicil. One residential building in Frankfurt is being purchased by Domicil for its own account.

In all, the portfolio being sold by a fund issued by AviaRent Invest involves 1,480 residential units with 42,000sqm of leasable space and 426 parking spaces.

Domicil said the purchase was PFA’s first investment in the micro-apartment sector.

Andre Schmöller, Domicil’s CIO, said: “PFA is significantly expanding its involvement in the German residential real estate market” with a long-term investment horizon of about 20 years.

“The increasing mobility among young professionals and students will also lead to high demand for temporary housing solutions in the future,” he said.

The properties in the portfolio are located centrally in Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Dieburg, Cologne-Deutz, Weimar, Munich, Hanover, Berlin and Bonn. Assets in Hamburg comprise the largest component.