Investor trio to spend EUR 120m on London housing

Apollo Global Management's real estate arm is teaming up with Canadian heavyweight Ivanhoé Cambridge and central London housing specialist Residential Land to acquire residential rental buildings in the UK capital.

The venture will seek to purchase prime residential property in London, with an initial investment of over £100 mln (EUR 121 mln).

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, will hold a majority share in the partnership which has just completed its first transaction with the purchase of four multi-let residential buildings, totalling 207 units, located in the prime London districts of South Kensington, Lancaster Gate, Bayswater and Marylebone. Financial details were not disclosed.

'We are delighted that Ivanhoé Cambridge has selected us as its partner in this new programme and believe this partnership represents the further development of our business with respect to creating a select number of customized accounts,' said Roger Orf, head of Apollo Global Real Estate Management in Europe.

Apollo will also invest directly in the partnership, Orf said. 'We believe our seasoned executives are well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in this fragmented market as we actively expand Apollo's real estate platform into new markets including the UK.'

Residential Land has been appointed as strategic asset manager and property manager and will also be sourcing and managing acquisitions on behalf of the partnership.