Octopus Investments has announced a new European real estate strategy, with its first investment being a €200m partnership with Neinor to develop Spanish retirement rental schemes.
Octopus said the new European strategy primarily focuses on living and healthcare real estate sectors. The company intends to expand all of its existing strategies into Spain and other European countries within the next two to three years, encompassing elderly and specialist care homes, retirement living, affordable housing and real estate debt.
As part of the strategy, the company has teamed up with local residential property developer Neinor with an initial plan to invest €200m in developing retirement rental schemes across Spain and will also run the day-to-day operations.
Ed Clough, MD of Octopus Real Estate, said: “In growing our real estate business, we have looked carefully for regions where we feel our expertise will resonate, the fundamentals are supportive, and where we believe we can grow a long-term business. Spain with its strong economy, ageing population, growing housing need across all age groups, and high-quality healthcare system fits that approach.
“We know that having a strong local presence with an expert team is essential to our success as we look to both build long-term relationships with local Spanish partners and to deliver for our investors.”
Lieven Debruyne, executive vice chair of Octopus Investments, said: “We’ve seen how investors globally are increasingly adopting a thematic approach to investing, targeting strategies where underlying demand is driven by demographic trends. We’ve also seen an increasing allocation within real estate to the living sectors, as more investors seek out alternative investment opportunities.
“So, while we are beginning our European expansion efforts in Spain and later living, we see a big opportunity in expanding our existing specialist strategies and exploring new geographies in the years to come.”
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