Pan-European investment manager Mirabaud Asset Management will partner with CBRE Capital Advisors to help deliver the Grand Paris project, Europe's largest urban and infrastructure scheme.
According to Mirabaud, its strategy dedicated to the Grand Paris area, launched in 2019, has already successfully secured commitments of €60 mln mainly from institutional investors.
The project is now looking to raise significant capital in 2020 in order to accelerate its strategy of co-investment with major French real estate developers.
CBRE Capital Advisors, the real estate investment banking (REIB) division of CBRE, hosting M&A activities and advisory services for both debt and equity raising, will act as advisor to Mirabaud raising equity from European and international investors.
Renaud Dutreil, head of private equity at Mirabaud said: 'Having CBRE, one of the global real estate leaders, as advisor for the future development of our 'Grand Paris' strategy is a strong endorsement on the quality of the project and its relevance for investors.
'The recent pandemic of Covid-19 has generated an even larger need of capital than before to finance, with equity, the acceleration of residential production and development of tomorrow’s office spaces in the greater Paris area, respecting environmental and modernity highest standards.'
Lockdown progress
The Grand Paris project is currently Europe’s largest urban and infrastructure project, comprising an ambitious pipeline of rail, road and real estate development, the latter across both the residential and office sectors.
During the lockdown, the Mirabuad investment team completed a first transaction in the residential sector. The project is located in Hauts-de-Seine, close to the hippodrome of Saint Cloud, and will include the development of a programme of several dozen energy-efficient apartments.
Said Olivier Seux, head of real estate at Mirabaud Asset Management: 'Our strategy follows an investment philosophy based upon partnerships with the top French real estate developers, focused on projects in the 'Grand Paris' territory.
'The strategy invests alongside established real estate developers, and Mirabaud carefully selects and challenges each project. Each development will benefit from the proximity of the existing, or future, public transport infrastructure within the ‘Grand Paris’ master plan and will display a strong environmental dimension.'
Benjamin Rouah, Head of REIB, Continental Europe and Mark Evans, head of EMEA equity placement, at CBRE Capital Advisors, added: 'With an exciting pipeline of projects and collaboration agreements in place with major developers in the greater Paris area, we are confident in the ability of Mirabaud Asset Management to execute the strategy and generate attractive returns for investors in the long term.'
