Global investment management firm Franklin Templeton has acquired five new assets for its diversified social infrastructure impact platform.
The platform, managed by Franklin Real Assets Advisors (FRAA) has acquired 22 assets for a total value in excess of €560 mln since its launch in July 2018.
In addition to the previously announced social infrastructure assets, the platform has acquired five new assets in the healthcare, education, housing and civic sectors in Spain, Germany, the UK and Denmark.
The new assets include a nursing home in Madrid; special education schools in London and Manchester, job centres in Barcelona and Dortmund as well as a student housing facility in Copenhagen. These additional acquisitions secured with long-term leases, contribute to a well-diversified portfolio across six European countries and five social infrastructure sectors in the portfolio.
Raymond Jacobs, FRAA managing director and portfolio manager, said: 'We are pleased with the progress of the social infrastructure strategy since its launch in July 2018 and the three-year track record of investing with a dual return objective.
'The strategy seeks to deliver a market core real estate return together with a social and environmental impact.
'The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that public investment alone is not sufficient to support adequate social infrastructure, and this sector has emerged as an important, institutional-scale opportunity to align portfolios with societal benefits and achieve competitive financial performance.'
FRAA’s intentional approach to social infrastructure investing contributes to six of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, namely good health and well-being; quality education; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities; peace and justice and strong institutions.
Klaus Schmid, director and head of acquisitions for FRAA, said: 'We are thrilled with the quality of the properties acquired and the speed at which we are deploying capital.
'We now have 22 assets in our strategy with a total value exceeding €560 mln and we plan to enter new countries in 2022.
'We’re finding many opportunities to directly increase the quantity and quality of social infrastructure and have a solid pipeline of over €1 bn investments across Europe. We expect to announce further asset acquisitions during this year.'
The FRAA investment team has a strong pipeline of over €1 bn investments across Europe and expects to transact on additional assets in the coming months.
