AEW has marked its entry into the Spanish residential market with an agreement to forward purchase a mixed-use redevelopment in Barcelona.

The real estate manager, on behalf of a private German pension fund mandate, is buying the asset at 59 Via Augusta from Spanish residential investment firm EuroStone for an undisclosed amount.

The 11,500sqm property has been converted to residential use and is undergoing a two-year refurbishment, which is being delivered by EuroStone.

Upon completion, it will comprise 91 residential units and up to three retail units over nine floors.

Carsten Czarnetzki, country head Spain at AEW, said: “This will be a high-quality residential building in the heart of Barcelona and marks AEW’s first residential transaction in Spain, reflecting our growing platform and increasing ambitions in this country.

“Since opening our office in Madrid in 2017, we have successfully invested clients’ funds across most real estate asset classes in Spain and are seeing continued strong investor demand for the market.”

Lars-Henning Pylla, separate account manager at AEW, said: “Barcelona’s residential market, and this redevelopment opportunity in particular, meets our objective of investing in centrally located and sought after apartments, underpinned by positive, long term fundamentals.

“Once the project is complete, we expect it to deliver both long-term capital appreciation and stable cash-flow.”