ARA Venn raises €200m at 1st close of European real estate debt fund

VeCREF II follows on from the success of its predecessor, VeCREF I, that deployed over €520 mln across 24 commercial real estate loans. In a strong sign of support and endorsement, all external investors of the VeCREF I fund have invested into the new fund.

Singapore’s ARA Asset Management, which recently partnered with Venn to form ARA Venn, participated as a cornerstone investor, reinforcing its commitment to co-invest in ARA Venn managed funds and providing a strong alignment of interest in the product.
 
VeCREF II will invest in whole loans secured by commercial real estate assets across Western Europe, targeting a net IRR of mid-to-high single digits and regular quarterly income distributions for its investors.  The fund’s investment strategy targets loans secured by value-add real estate opportunities across all asset classes including residential and alternatives with a focus on the major conurbations in six core countries in Western Europe, namely France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
 
Paul House, joint managing partner and head of the commercial real estate team, said: ‘We are delighted to have successfully reached the first close of VeCREF II, particularly in an uncertain market environment which we believe will be very interesting for non-bank lenders who are unencumbered by legacy loan assets and who will therefore be able to assist with financing requirements when others are less able to.’
 
‘We are currently analysing a number of exciting opportunities to deploy capital into a market which promises to be very attractive for real estate debt in relative value terms,’ added Beatrice Dupont, partner in the commercial real estate team.
 
ARA Venn is ARA’s second investment partnership in Europe following its acquisition in July 2019 of a majority stake in Dunedin Property Asset Management Ltd (renamed ARA Dunedin) to invest in and manage real estate equity assets in the UK.