Patrizia’s €500m European affordable and sustainable housing fund has concluded its fundraising and begun investing.

The Patrizia Sustainable Communities fund, which secured €125m from Danish pension funds AP Pension and PKA as cornerstone investor when it launched in January 2022, has now closed with firepower to invest more than €500m, the company said.

Patrizia Sustainable Communities focuses on creating a diverse portfolio where more than two-thirds of its holdings will be affordable and social housing. The fund, which targets value-add opportunities, will also invest in broader areas, such as alternative living, social infrastructure and community spaces.

Patrizia said the fund, which secured equity commitments from 10 institutional investors, has started its investment programme with four developments – two in Dublin in Ireland, and two in the UK in Milton Keynes and Bishop’s Stortford – which together will deliver around 1,000 affordable and social homes.

In the UK, the Patrizia Sustainable Communities has launched a programme targeting €115m to be invested in the development of environmentally and socially sustainable new-build single-family affordable housing. 

Marleen Bikker-Bekkers, Patrizia Sustainable Communities fund manager and head of European investments at Patrizia Global Partners, said: “With over €500m of firepower, we are incredibly excited to make a meaningful difference in tackling housing affordability through our pan-European investment programme.

“Across the world we are experiencing a transition in the way we live that is driven by changes in demographics, societal needs and economic shifts, placing huge pressure on the cost of living. With over 80m Europeans now overburdened by housing costs, accelerating the provision of high-quality homes at affordable levels has never been more urgent and cannot be achieved by governments alone.”

Mathieu Elshout, head of sustainability and impact investing at Patrizia, said: “A core pillar of Patrizia’s sustainability strategy is to become a leading impact investor in global real assets by 2035. Despite the economic headwinds, the strong demand we have seen from investors for our first-ever impact strategy underlines our clear conviction for making an impact through social and affordable housing, and represents a significant step towards achieving our impact and sustainability goals.

“As we build out our affordable housing experience in key residential markets, we look forward to delivering not only much-needed new homes but also providing our investors with attractive dual returns of sustained social and environmental impact alongside good financial returns.”

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