Asset manager La Française has launched an innovative €400 mln German retail real estate fund that will be supported by research provided by the real estate institute of a Geman university.
The fund is structured as an open-ended real estate alternative investment fund (AIF) under German law and is administrated by IntReal, a German real estate services KVG business.
'This is the first German real estate fund to cooperate with a university. Investors will benefit from the research and teachings of a leading real estate faculty, the Real Estate Management Institute (REMI) at the EBS University of Business and Law n the German city of Wiesbaden,' Gregor Volk, managing director of the German branch of La Française AM International, said.
La Française aims to achieve a total volume of €400 mln for the fund, which will seek to generate sustainable cash flows from investments in core assets. The backers say the fund should benefit from the positive consumer climate in Germany and will invest in local shopping centres, retail parks and discounters as well as inner-city and high-street retail.
Professor Jan Mutl, head of REMI, added, 'We are pleased to collaborate with La Francaise on such an innovative project. With the integration of theory and practice, investors will gain added value.'
La Française is an international asset management firm with over €56 bn in assets under management, of which close to €14 bn is invested in real estate.
Assets for the fund will be sourced and managed by La Française’s Frankfurt-based subsidiary, La Française Forum Real Estate Partners, headed by Jens Goettler. Over the past 18 months alone, La Française Forum Real Estate Partners has invested over €350 mln on the German market.
La Française is 94% owned by Credit Mutuel Nord Europe, a banking and insurance group present in Northern France and Belgium.
