AXA RE to invest EUR 750m in alternative assets by 2015

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers is planning to invest EUR 750 mln in alternative assets in Europe over the next three years, Daniel Bowden, fund manager at AXA Real Estate in London, told PropertyEU at Expo Real in Munich this week.

‘We are targeting a range of assets, including student housing and care homes and we will work with partners, such as developers, to grow our investment,’ he said.
At least half of the EUR 750 mln earmarked for investment will be placed in Germany, Bowden said, with additional investment planned in the UK and France.

These markets are attractive due to their liquidity, Bowden added. Student housing and care homes are particularly interesting due to their long leases, which are typically around 20 years, making them a good fit for institutional investors. The investment manager has also invested in assets such as police stations in Sweden and petrol stations in Spain.

Also, at EXPO REAL, AXA Real Estate announced that it has agreed to acquire two buildings in Germany with Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) for EUR 784 mln from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The acquisition marks NBIM’s first venture into Germany and comes hot on the heels of its acquisition on Monday of a 50% stake in the freehold of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. It is not the first venture between NBIM and AXA Real Estate: in July 2011, they teamed up to acquire a EUR 1.4 bn portfolio of seven office properties in Paris.