Europa Capital, on behalf of its latest value-add European real estate fund, has formed a joint venture with Skjerven Group to invest in residential assets in Berlin.
Europa said the newly created venture, which intends to put together a portfolio worth €150m, has agreed its first two acquisitions worth €20m in total.
The manager said the venture is also in due diligence on other residential-led opportunities as well as actively pursuing a pipeline of further investments.
Berlin-based Skjerven will provide asset management services to the joint venture and will be responsible for sourcing new opportunities.
Jason Oram, partner, fund manager at Europa Capital, said: “We continue to view residential as one of the key value-add sectors, capable of producing attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients.
“We are confident that a strategy of this nature will work well in Berlin, one of Europe’s most dynamic capital cities with excellent long term growth prospects.”
James Farmer, partner, origination and acquisitions at Europa Capital, said: “We have been monitoring the Berlin residential market closely over the last year and firmly believe that the underlying fundamentals, in particular, favourable demographics, economic growth potential and limited housing stock are, in combination, supportive of investments in this asset class.
“We are pleased to have established a partnership with a leading local specialist such as Skjerven Group and look forward to building a high-quality real estate portfolio with them.”
Einar Skjerven, owner and managing partner of Skjerven Group, said: “We are to contribute our high level of market knowledge and acquisition experience in Berlin to this new joint venture which is well-timed for opportunity-oriented investors like Europa Capital and Skjerven Group.”
To read the digital edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
