DWS is investing €80m to buy a build-to-rent (BTR) real estate development in Spain from developer Culmia.

The manager is buying residential development in the Zona Franca district of Barcelona on behalf of one of its German retail real estate funds.

The Zona Franca project will comprise 210, affordable homes upon completion to be delivered over two phases in 2021 and 2022.

The latest investment follows DWS’s investment in late 2020 of almost €100m in its first BTR development in Madrid and Barcelona’s metropolitan area comprising 320 residential units.

Both transactions are part of an alliance between DWS and its management partner, Urban Input. This brings DWS’s total BTR portfolio in Spain to around €416m.

Ronen Ribak, the head of real estate transactions, Europe at DWS said: “With this new project, DWS continues to strengthen its commitment to the BTR segment in Spain and Europe. In the future, we will continue to invest in high quality, sustainable housing in excellent locations and, above all, affordable.”

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