LaSalle secures EUR 800m for European spending spree

LaSalle Investment Management (LaSalle) has secured a fully discretionary separate account with a major European institutional investor, bringing the total new capital raised this year to EUR 800 mln.

The investment focus for this new core-plus separate account will be the markets of Continental Europe, specifically France and Germany, in the office and retail sectors. Under the new mandate, the investment manager is also considering investing in other European countries and the logistics sector.

Further new commitments to European core real estate have recently come from two specialist investment funds operated by LaSalle Investment Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (LaSalle KAG), following the granting of a license by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in January 2011. LaSalle KAG is 100% owned by LaSalle and is based in Munich, Germany. Four German assets are in due diligence for KAG structures - three high street retail properties and one prime office building

'At a relatively low point in the economic and real estate cycles, we have built up good momentum for both raising and investing capital,' said Andy Watson, head of Core Funds and Separate Accounts for Continental Europe, LaSalle Investment Management.

'The core/core-plus markets of Paris offices and German retail are the most liquid on the Continent of Europe. In both sectors, we have a very good track record and strong teams in place to maximise the investment opportunities on behalf of our clients. We are already closing a number of suitable assets and look forward to progressing these and others in the coming months.'