US privately-held developer-investor Hines has acquired a 30,000-m2 portfolio of eight prime sites in France, across Paris and key regional cities, to develop a series of Build to Rent (B2R) residential schemes, on behalf of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund (HECF).
In total, the sites will provide 500 units of high-quality living space across five locations in Paris and three regional cities in France. The assets are located in undersupplied residential markets, each with close links to public transport and surrounded by local amenities.
HECF will forward fund the delivery of the projects, having agreed a partnership with Kaufmann & Broad (K&B), a major France-based publicly listed real estate construction company. K&B will lead the development of the properties.
The acquisition represents HECF’s first entry into the French residential market.
‘While we continue to increase the fund’s exposure to the logistics sector, this acquisition represents a key milestone in the execution of our strategy to diversify into the living sector,’ said Peter Epping, senior managing director and HECF fund manager at Hines. ‘The B2R sector is a nascent sector in France so we are pleased to be early entrants to a market which is benefiting from strong demographics and other fundamentals, and where we believe there is elevated demand for high quality, well-located flexible accommodation, particularly from young professionals.’
Xavier Musseau, senior managing director and country head of France at Hines, commented:
‘This acquisition marks our first foray into the B2R sector in France and builds on our other recent successful transactions. We’re excited to be entering the burgeoning living sector and have a strong team on the ground in France. In addition, we’re delighted to be partnering with one of the country’s best known and highest regarded residential developers in Kaufmann & Broad to deliver these exciting projects.’
Hines was advised by Lasaygues, the residential real estate consultancy, Ikory Asset Management for due diligence, the law firm Lacourte Raquin Tatar, and PWC for taxation advice. Kaufman and Broad was advised by CBRE on the transaction.
