Hamburg-based investment and asset manager Engel & Völkers Capital (EVC) has unveiled a push into Spain's project development market with its latest fund, targeting a project volume in excess of €300 mln.
The Luxembourg EVC-REDF umbrella fund SICAV-SIF is European in scope, with a focus on Spain. With at an expected first closing of €50-60 mln, it invests in a diversified asset portfolio in the residential, logistics, office and alternative real estate sectors.
The main target markets are large cities in Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Seville as well as the Costa del Sol and the Balearic Islands. The loan volume per project is ideally between €5-20 mln and the fund offers both senior secured loans and pure mezzanine financing.
Tomasz Kalemba, head of portfolio and investment management EVC said: 'We are entering the Spanish development market with tailor-made financing solutions structured through Luxembourg and/or Germany.
'EVC focuses on stable and profit-oriented portfolio diversification in terms of asset classes, locations and solid project developers. Our goal is to finance real estate projects in Spain with a project volume of more than 300 mln in the next two to three years.'
First deals
Financing for two real estate projects in Spain has already been successfully completed. These include loans for a last mile logistics park in Madrid with almost 42,000 m2 of total space and a Micro Living property with 257 student apartments in Barcelona, which operates under Corestate's Label Youniq. This latter scheme is situated in the city's dynamic innovation district, 22@.
According to EVC, the Spanish real estate market has made a substantial recovery since the crisis in 2008 and is now showing stable annual growth of 2.4%. EVC is seeking further opportunities through its own team in Madrid and via the Engels & Völkers group network which includes more than 70 Spanish and international subsidiaries.
