Principal Real Estate Europe and French real estate manager PAREF Gestion have launched a second German retail real estate fund.

The duo have strengthened their partnership with the setting up of SCPI Novapierre Allemagne 2, which will provide investors in France to core-plus assets.

Guillaume Masset, head of transactions and asset management Europe, at Principal Real Estate Europe, said: “We are delighted to be partnering once again with PAREF Gestion, having already completed the acquisition of more than 50 properties together for the first fund, Novapierre Allemagne I.

“This partnership is the perfect illustration of the DNA of our pan-European investment management platform, which offers cross-border solutions to our clients and a hands-on management approach.”

Anne Schwartz, managing director of PAREF Gestion, said: “As part of our strong growth, we are proud to launch Novapierre Allemagne 2, our second fund dedicated to retail real estate in Germany.

“We are extremely confident that Paref Gestion’s 28 years of experience investing in real estate, as well as Principal’s in-depth knowledge of the German market, will enable us to make Novapierre Allemagne 2 a successful fund.”

Ole Sichter, head of transactions Germany for Principal Real Estate Europe, said: “With one of the lowest rates of unemployment and highest per capita levels of purchasing power in Europe, the fundamentals supporting the German retail real estate sector remain strong, especially for retail warehouses.

“With Novapierre Allemagne II, we will work closely with PAREF Gestion to employ the same bottom-up approach to asset selection as we did for the first fund, targeting regions across where the underlying economy supports the income streams from high-quality retail assets.”