MEAG, the asset management arm of German reinsurer Munich Re, has teamed up Culmia, a Spanish developer owned by Oaktree Capital Management, to create a €400m affordable housing platform.
The joint venture will operate what is set to become Spain’s largest operational affordable housing platform.
It is launching with an initial 1,782 homes and intends to deliver approximately 750 additional units to reach a target scale of 2,500 homes.
The platform’s seed portfolio comprises assets from Plan Vive II, Madrid City Council Lot 1, and various developments in Valencia and Benidorm. The strategy involves the subsequent incorporation of three additional lots from the EMVS Plan Suma programme, situated in the Los Ahijones and Los Berrocales districts of Madrid.
New York-based Oaktree acquired Culmia in 2019 from Spanish bank Banco Sabadell.
Dominik Damaschke, head of illiquid assets equity at MEAG, said: “Spain presents attractive structural conditions for MEAG’s investment into critical infrastructure, specifically affordable housing, with its long-term resilience.
“With Culmia, we share a vision for growth and a commitment to sustainably scaling the platform nationwide in cooperation with the administrations.”
Andrea León Viera, senior infrastructure equity transaction manager at MEAG, said: “This transaction sets the first achievement to create a large-scale solution for critical infrastructure.”
She said MEAG’s investment in the platform would benefitted from rents linked to inflation and stable regulatory frameworks through public-private partnerships (PPPs), adding that it would “serve as an example for further investment in the affordable housing space”.
Francisco Pérez, CEO of Culmia, said: “This agreement underscores our commitment to affordable housing and effective PPPs that deliver material solutions.
“Combining long-term institutional capital with Culmia’s industrial and asset management expertise equips us to accelerate delivery, improve operational efficiency and broaden access to rental housing under protected conditions.”
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