Ampere Gestion, the residential investment manager of French public financial body Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), has raised over €900 mln in the first round of funding for its second intermediate housing fund, Fonds de Logement Intermédiaire 2 (FLI 2).
According to Ampere, the sum represents the largest amount raised in the European residential property sector in 2018.
The first-round equity was sourced from 15 institutional investors. It will be followed by a second round of funding in 2019 which will enable FLI to finance the production of over 11,000 units of – mostly intermediate – housing in major French cities.
'This €906 mln financing drive – the largest amount raised in the European residential property sector in 2018 – confirms French and foreign investor confidence in the attractiveness of our housing market and the vitality of major French cities. This success proves that intermediate housing is now recognised by investors as a fully-fledged asset category in its own right,' said Vincent Mahé, CEO of Ampere Gestion and corporate secretary of CDC Habitat.
The first intermediate housing fund (FLI 1) was launched by CDC Habitat and its subsidiary Ampere in 2014 with an investment capacity of €1.7 bn, corresponding to 10,000 units of intermediate housing.
This amount has now been invested and Ampere said the fund had met all of its objectives in terms of location quality, yield and financial performance.
Half of the institutional investors that have invested in FLI 2 had already committed to FLI 1, according to the firm. FLI 2 has a total fund target of €2 bn and will seek to fund major developments located in and around the Grand Paris Express project and in major cities outside of Paris. It is targeting 80% intermediate housing and 20% residences for students and seniors.
