Bouwfonds residential vehicle buys in Germany and France

Bouwfonds European Residential Fund is adding residential buildings in Germany and France to its real estate portfolio for a total investment volume of EUR 40 mln.

The open-ended real estate fund is buying a 56-apartment property in the Nordstadt district of Bonn for EUR 9 mln. The building offers a total living space of 3,306 square metres. The vendor is a private individual.

Bouwfonds announced that the fund has bought student accommodation, with 111 apartments and a concierge service, in the university town of Evry, located in the Ile-de-France region of France. The investment volume was EUR 8 mln and the vendor was French real estate developer Nexity.

In the Rangueil district of Toulouse, the fund acquired 397 apartments. directly opposite the university Paul Sabatier. The student hall, which was built in 1992/93, has a leasable area of 9,677 m² spread over three buildings of between three and five storeys.

This is the fifth property and the third student residential complex in France to be included in the fund’s real estate portfolio. The investment volume is EUR 24 mln. The vendor was Promologis, one of the biggest providers of affordable housing in France.

Xavier Jongen, fund director of Bouwfonds European Residential Fund, said: 'I regard the student housing market as the most stable part of the residential market in France, and see continuing rental and capital appreciation opportunities in the mid-priced residential letting market in Germany.'

Bouwfonds European Residential Fund has some EUR 550 mln of capital invested in residential real estate in Germany, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Bouwfonds aims to have acquired residential property with a volume of EUR 750 mln for the fund by end-2013.