BMO launches Europe residential fund with The Hague buy

With a target investment volume of €800 mln, the fund will invest in mid-market and affordable residential real estate as well as senior living in metropolitan regions and major cities in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy and Spain.

The fund’s first acquisition is a 5,600 m2 property at Paviljoensgracht 1-3 in The Hague. The six-storey building was built in 1983 as an office and commercial building and was converted into a residential building over the last two years.

It consists of 60 studios and one-bedroom apartments with a total of over 3,050 m2 living space. Additionally, the ground and first floor feature around 2,550 m2 of office space, currently on a long-term lease to the municipality of The Hague. There are also 51 underground parking spaces.

Iris Schöberl, managing director Germany and head of institutional clients at BMO Real Estate Partners, commented: 'We are delighted to have struck gold with our first purchase for the European residential fund as The Hague offers such an international environment.

'The property is a prime example of a dynamic, mixed-use development and can be used as a model for numerous other properties. In the long term, there is the possibility of converting further letting areas into apartments thus presenting a great potential for value appreciation.'

Ian Kelley, managing director, head of France, Benelux and Southern Europe at BMO REP, said: 'The property has an excellent micro-location in the city centre of The Hague in the immediate vicinity of the main shopping street, with excellent infrastructural connections.

'The residents of the fully rented property have easy access to both the city’s largest office submarket and cultural and educational institutions, such as the Leiden University campus.'

The residential-focused fund is classified as an Article 8 Fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).