Deutsche Investment is planning to raise €300m for its first German food retail asset investment fund.

The manager said the newly launched open-ended Deutsche Investment – Food Retail I fund has received its initial capital commitments from investors.

Food Retail I has also acquired its first asset and is in talks to acquire €30m worth of additional assets, the manager said.

The fund seeks to build up a diversified retail property portfolio with focus on food markets and grocery-anchored retail parks in structurally stable regions of Germany.

The transaction, asset and property management is to be handled by DIR Deutsche Investment Retail

Susanne Klaussner, MD of DIR Deutsche Investment Retail, said: “Due to its long-term leases with high net worth tenants and its stable rental yields, food retailing represents an attractive and sustainable investment product for institutional investors.

“Especially in the current crisis situation, it becomes readily apparent that resupplying the population via the in-store food retailing segment plays a key role in Germany, and that this segment is clearly more resilient against the online competition than other retail segments.”

Enver Büyükarslan, partner of Deutsche Investment, said: “In addition to the favourable parameters of its market segment for investors, the new fund is made particularly attractive by the market access of Deutsche Investment.

“Our shareholder structure allows us to acquire strategy-compliant assets for the fund any time. This way, investors can buy into the fund on short notice and without having to wait long until their funds are called.”