Corpus Sireo seeks further growth after winning €1.8b in new mandates

Germany's Corpus Sireo has started the New Year with the addition of €1.8 bn of new asset management mandates.

The real estate asset manager has won a total of 10 new accounts and extended another 10 contracts at the turn of the year.

New mandates include a contract from Cerberus to manage the more than 20,000 housing units of the Speymill portfolio. The private equity group also picked Corpus Sireo for a mandate to sell nearly 110,000 m2 of commercial real estate across Germany.

In addition, Corpus Sireo said it received a €500 mln five-year mandate for acquisitions and asset management of the RREEF Property Pension Fund.

Corpus Sireo AM's CEO Ingo Hartlief said the outsourcing of asset management services is an up-and-coming trend for investment funds. 'Contracting an external asset manager can definitely enhance the quality of properties acquired, because it cushions peak loads and introduces specialised know-how at the same time.'

The company aims to grow further in 2013. Most recently, it took over the asset management business of Treureal and further purchases in the upper three-digit million range have reached an advanced stage, the company said.

Corpus Sireo is also planning to intensify its focus on the management of distressed real estate situations. In this segment, Corpus Sireo already took on an asset management mandate from Hatfield Philips last year, which concerned a distressed real estate portfolio of 65,000 m2 of commercial space.

German real estate portfolios totalling as much as €3 bn will likely require support in the medium term, Hartlief said. 'The capacities of the banks or servicers responsible for the securitisations will not suffice to handle all of the necessary rollovers or debt rescheduling under their own steam. This will drive up demand for external service providers who have the wherewithal to stabilise portfolios in one-off situations, raise value potential, and to market the properties.'

Cologne-based Corpus Sireo manages a total of 15.4 million m2 of commercial and residential property worth more than €16.2 bn.