AEW wins €200m mandate from German pension fund manager

AEW Europe’s German business has secured €200 mln separate account mandate to invest in commercial real estate across Europe on behalf of German pension fund manager ZVK.

The award comes as AEW Europe expands its presence in Germany with the opening of a new office in Frankfurt, following the significant growth of the firm’s business and the launch of a new German fund management platform last year. AEW already had an office in Düsseldorf.

ZVK, which manages pension funds on behalf of state employees in Saxony, was advised by HQ Trust in the asset manager selection process for the mandate, which will be structured through a German Spezialfonds and managed by Institutional Investment Partners as the approved fund manager.

AEW Europe has completed transactions totalling €750 mln in Germany in the last 12 months and the market is a key element of the Company’s pan-European fund strategies, including the €1.3 bn Logistis fund and the European Value Investors (EVI) fund. EVI was launched in June 2014 with an investment target of €700 mln and to date, the fund has already secured almost €400 mln of investments across 11 transactions in the UK, France and Germany.

Marc Langenbach, portfolio manager at AEW Europe for the ZVK mandate said that over €100 mln of investments are already under exclusivity.

Rob Wilkinson, CEO of AEW Europe, added: “This new investment mandate represents another step forward for AEW Europe as we continue to grow our business in Germany and diversify our European client base. We have seen a significant uplift in our German business activity over the last twelve months and we expect this to be a key growth market for us over the next three to five years. The opening of the office in Frankfurt will provide us with an extended platform to consolidate our market presence and further develop our relationships and wider network.”

AEW Europe has €17.3 bn of assets under management, of which €1.2 bn is in Germany.