Global real estate fund manager Hines and Canadian institutional investor QuadReal Property Group are teaming up to invest in build-to-rent housing, student accommodation and serviced apartments across Europe.
The programmatic joint venture will be funded with €500m of equity and, with leverage, will have €1.25bn of investment capacity.
Hines and QuadReal, the real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, will aim to build a portfolio over a 12-to-18-month period, focusing on France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordics and core UK markets outside London.
The two companies have previously invested together in other real estate markets, predominantly in the US and Mexico.
Lars Huber, CEO for Hines Europe, said: “This joint venture partnership represents a fantastic opportunity for us to deploy our on-the-ground teams across a range of countries, capitalising on their local market knowledge to source and execute acquisitions and developments for the account.
“In recent years we have diversified our portfolio into the living sector in pockets, but this is the first time we have embarked on a consolidated pan-European drive into the sector on a single account with a joint-venture partner.”
Alex Knapp, CIO for Hines Europe, said: “QuadReal’s global presence, residential pedigree and overall approach to real estate investment makes them a natural fit for Hines in this joint venture.
“The macro trends of population growth and urbanisation, combined with a general market under supply in Europe make the residential sector a sustainable long-term investment for us.”
Jonathan Dubois-Phillips, president, international real estate at QuadReal, said: “This new residential venture with Hines fits squarely within QuadReal’s business model to invest in high-conviction strategies with best-in-class partners. We look forward to working with Hines as we expand our business outside of Canada and further into Europe.”
Jay Kwan, managing director of Europe for QuadReal, said: “We’re excited to be extending our relationship with Hines over to Europe, particularly in a sector in which we jointly share a strong conviction.
“QuadReal’s extensive residential experience in North America gives us the courage of our conviction to invest boldly into the sector, particularly beside a partner with such breadth and depth of track record across key European cities.”
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