London-based Northern Europe-focused investor Matter Real Estate has announced the launch of a new residential rental platform focusing on the Danish single-family market to build a portfolio of over DKK 2.0 bn (€270 mln) of assets.
Known as Velkomn, the platform will be majority owned by Matter and led by Peter Uldall Borch as CEO. In his previous role Borch was CEO of HD Ejendomme building a portfolio of over 6,000 residential units before the business was sold to Heimstaden.
Anders Horsbøl and Søren Hampen Kristensen who run 1927, one of Denmark’s largest housing developers, will be involved as partners in the joint venture.
Velkomn will target build-to-rent schemes in regional locations around Denmark’s growth cities, with strong demographics, transport, education and employment. Velkomn will require a minimum of DGNB Silver sustainability certification for its projects.
The joint venture has been seeded with two sites in the Zealand region which are expected to deliver 280 homes.
David Christie, Matter Real Estate CEO, commented: ‘Denmark has been a target investment market for us for close to five years and we are pleased not only to have found such capable partners with whom to deliver this strategy.’
Peter Uldall Borch, CEO, Velkomn, said: ‘This is a partnership with great potential. We’ve secured both capital, competences, and a strong, knowledgeable organization. We will put our knowledge, insights, and capital to good use throughout the value chain, right from development and construction to administration and ongoing operations – all to the benefit of our tenants at Velkomn. We are experiencing a growing demand for modern, affordable rental housing, and we are looking forward to delivering just that.’
The project, Matter’s seventh residential platform investment, follows the launch by Matter of living sector strategies covering the UK, Ireland, and Sweden. Matter is ultimately targeting 20,000 homes across Europe within five years.
