HIG Capital has built up a €1 bn real estate portfolio across Europe over the past 24 months and is working towards setting up a European fund, managing directors Ahmed Hamdani and Riccardo Dallolio have told PropertyEU.
HIG Capital has built up a €1 bn real estate portfolio across Europe over the past 24 months and is working towards setting up a European fund, managing directors Ahmed Hamdani and Riccardo Dallolio have told PropertyEU.
The US private equity investor has completed 13 transactions across Europe since entering real estate in 2012.
Recent deals include the purchase of an Italian NPL package, two portfolios of light industrial assets in the Netherlands for a combined value of €44 mln and the purchase of a retail property portfolio in Finland from AXA REIM for €107 mln.
The firm is currently believed to be looking into the launch of its first European fund later this year. According to market sources, HIG is aiming to raise $500 mln (€480 mln) for a pan-European value-add real estate vehicle, which will invest both in real estate and real estate-secured debt.
With leverage of around 60%, the vehicle is expected to have a firepower of around €1.2 bn and will seek to offer returns in the high teens. It would be the first dedicated European real estate investment vehicle launched by the $17 bn US private equity asset manager since entering the real estate sector three years ago.
The strategy is identical to the one used in the US where the group has been managing several funds over the last 10 years.
With European offices in London, Madrid, and Milan, HIG has built up a 12 dedicated staff on the Continent in addition to being supported by a pool of analysts. It invests in both real estate and real estate-secured debt on an opportunistic basis and focuses on off market transactions with a small lot size of between €20 to €100 mln offering asset management potential.