Ares Management, the US firm, has struck an agreement with French start-up, Colonies, to acquire and refurbish affordable co-living apartments in major urban centres across Western Europe.
Ares is making the investment though its Alternative Credit Fund, backing Colonies which in 2020 caught attention when it raised $34 mln in a funding round and saw LBO France commit to invest €150 mln in real estate projects covering around 100 houses over a period of three years.
In this new agreement, Colonies is responsible for sourcing, refurbishing, and providing the interior design plus rental and property management on behalf of Ares as both look to create a diversified portfolio of ‘flexible and affordable’ co-living apartments.
The parties were advised by Realty Corporation, whose managing partner, Jonathan Lurie, said: ‘This innovative transaction creates a new milestone in the strength of the European housing market.’
‘Through its financing commitment and collaboration with a full-service, technology-enabled residential platform such as Colonies, Ares is helping to advance the creation of high-demand housing in key urban locations, while deploying capital in scale.’
François Roth and Alexandre Martin, co-founders of Colonies, explained that a strategy of small property aggregation meant it could provide an ‘innovative response’ to the challenge investors face in deploying large volumes of capital in this asset class.
‘This offer was made possible by the use of technology and the operational excellence of our teams. Ares’ commitment will support our goal to create up to 10,000 homes for residents. We are committed to providing affordable homes with an excellent quality of life in approximately 20 European cities – and to doubling Colonies’ development pipeline.’
Eli Appelbaum, MD in Ares’ Alternative Credit strategy, said: ‘We believe this provides an opportunity to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our institutional investors while supporting Ares’ focus on aligning our investment activities with our societal impact.’
