Deutsche Investment has a number of property deals in the pipeline for its first German food retail asset investment fund, the manager said as it announced an acquisition.

The manager has paid an undisclosed sum to buy a 1,968sqm grocery retail property in the town of Neuenbürg for the Deutsche Investment – Food Retail I fund which seeks a €300m fundraise.

The property, which was built in 2009, is occupied by an Aldi Süd food discount supermarket and a bakers’ store.

Deutsche Investment said it currently has €65m worth of deals in the pipeline “either undergoing their due diligence investigations or have already had their deeds notarised”.

The open-ended Food Retail I fund seeks to build up a diversified retail property portfolio with a focus on food markets and grocery-anchored retail parks in structurally stable regions of Germany. The fund’s transaction, asset and property management are handled by DIR Deutsche Investment Retail.

Susanne Klaussner, managing director of DIR Deutsche Investment Retail, said: “From an opportunity-risk angle, the food retail sector remains the most attractive segment in retail real estate.

“This is particularly true for grocery retail centres and retail warehouse parks where the footfall is ensured by an anchor tenant from the food sector and a supplementary drugstore or a bakery shop.”

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