Franklin Templeton has raised €151m from six institutional investors to develop and reposition essential social infrastructure across Europe.
The new strategy, supported by Franklin Real Asset Advisors, was backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), which provided the capital via a mandate from the European Commission under the InvestEU Fund.
The strategy targets opportunities across the healthcare, education and housing sectors, with a focus on the development and redevelopment of modern, energy-efficient social infrastructure assets.
The strategy will primarily target opportunities in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and the Nordic region, with FRAA expected to commit to its initial investments in the coming months.
Matthew Harrison, head of EMEA and Americas ex-US, Franklin Templeton, said: “European social infrastructure is undergoing a period of significant transformation, driven by evolving demographic needs, regulatory requirements and the modernisation of ageing assets.
“This strategy is designed to address those structural trends in sectors where demand is both resilient and growing. The EIF investment highlights the importance of mobilising capital towards essential social infrastructure.”
Raymond Jacobs, managing director at Franklin Real Asset Advisors, said: “We are very pleased with the strong support from the EIF, which reflects both the conviction in our strategy and the growing demand for resilient real asset investments that deliver measurable environmental and social outcomes alongside the aim of delivering attractive risk‑adjusted returns.
“We expect this initial launch will position the strategy well to capitalise on current market dislocation.”
Klaus Schmid, managing director at Franklin Real Asset Advisors, said: “We see a compelling opportunity set and strong pipeline across essential social infrastructure, particularly in sectors where structural undersupply and long‑term demand fundamentals remain strong.
“By developing and repositioning high‑quality assets in partnership with developers as well as healthcare and education operators, we aim to create sustainable social infrastructure across Europe that is attractive to long‑term core buyers.”
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