French asset manager La Française has started fundraising for its second environmentally sustainable property fund, LFP Immo SR 2, managing director Marc Bertrand told PropertyEU.
French asset manager La Française has started fundraising for its second environmentally sustainable property fund, LFP Immo SR 2, managing director Marc Bertrand told PropertyEU.
The fund will target equity commitments of around €200 mln. ‘The vehicle mainly targets green offices which in France are the most attractive part of the market,’ he added. ‘We plan to close fundraising at the end of 2014,’ he added.
The closed-end fund follows the launch in 2012 of La Française's first green vehicle, IMMO SR, which raised nearly €150 mln and is currently fully invested.
The asset manager is also working on a European senior debt fund to be launched jointly with UK-based Forum Partners by year-end or in early 2014.
‘We plan to set up and jointly market a senior debt fund, giving investors exposure to a number of European markets. We would manage the French activities and Forum would manage the business in the UK, Germany and the Benelux,’ Bertrand said.
La Française, a subsidiary of French bank Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe with €37 bn of assets under management, announced in September it had taken a 25% stake in property investment specialist Forum.
The acquisition is part of a strategy to grow internationally, he added. 'The French market for institutional players is good but cannot be the impassable horizon. Also, new regulation such as the AIFMD is forcing investment managers to consolidate and expand abroad. Expansion abroad is a priority for La Française.'
